HACKENSACK — A drug court defendant allegedly kicked in an exposed water pipe in the Bergen County court house Monday afternoon, causing an evacuation of the entire building.

Benjamin Blohm, 27, of New Milford, was appearing before Superior Court Judge Eugene Austin on the third floor of the building when he allegedly began kicking the water pipe near Courtroom 301, flooding the hallway and spilling down the stairs and into an elevator shaft.

"Both a superior court judge and a sheriff's officer fell because of the flooding," Sheriff's Department spokesman Richard Moriarty told NJ.com.

He said the judge was taken to a nearby hospital and the sheriff's officer received treatment at the scene.

The incident, caught on court house surveillance cameras, led officials to evacuate and eventually close the court house as the water spread through the building, damaging parts of the county prosecutor's office and other judicial agencies.

"The water in the elevator shaft and down the stairs raised concerns that it might not be safe," Moriarty said. "So the sheriff and the fire chief, in conjunction with the assignment judge, made the decision to evacuate the court house."

Blohm is being held on $50,000 bail at the Bergen County Jail.