On July 31 a New Jersey assemblyman was arrested under suspicion of driving while intoxicated. After the arrest, the assemblyman claimed that the police officer who conducted the traffic stop was acting outside the bounds of his job. It was confirmed on Monday morning of this week that the involved police officer had in fact been suspended on Oct. 22 and that the suspension still stands.
The original report filed by the police officer did not indicate any abuse, and in fact looked a lot like any normal DUI-related traffic report. The officer noted that the assemblyman had made an unsafe turn into a Chick-fil-A parking lot, cutting too closely in front of the patrol car. The officer then wrote that he proceeded to make a traffic stop during which he asked the assemblyman to participate in field sobriety testing and take a Breathalyzer test.
When he refused, the assemblyman was arrested. New Jersey laws provide a direct route for arrest under suspicion of drunk driving when a driver refuses to submit to a Breathalyzer test.
It seemed like a legitimate, everyday report; the only problem is that the assemblyman claimed that none of it was true except for maybe the date and the place. He found video that shows the officer was actually the one following the assemblyman through traffic and that the assemblyman never cut off the patrol car.
While the assemblyman originally filed the complaint within the county he worked in, it was later transferred to a nearby county to avoid the appearance of impropriety.
Source: Courier Post Online, “Washington Township suspends police officer who ticketed Moriarty,” Nov. 20, 2012
An assemblyman may have more influence and power as a public figure than the average New Jersey resident, but our law firm gives those residents the tools and resources they need to stand up against police misconduct during a DUI/DWI proceedings.