Large man goes wild in courtroom, Bergen sheriff’s officer hurt restraining him

YOU READ IT FIRST: At 6-foot-6 and 425 pounds, William Sadler was more than a handful for a Bergen County Sheriff’s officer when he became enraged during a Family Court hearing, grabbed a companion of his ex-wife by the throat and lifted him off the floor.

Jerry DeMarco

04/21/2011 8:25 p.m.

William Sadler COURTESY: BERGEN COUNTY SHERIFF’S DEPARTMENT

The only officer in the courtroom was able to restrain Sadler until backup help arrived. But one of the responding officers, Lt. David Moody, suffered a leg injury in the process and was undergoing an MRI, Bergen County Sheriff Michael Saudino said.

“It took three pair of handcuffs to get his hands behind his back,” said Richard J. Moriarity, a spokesman for the sheriff, told CLIFFVIEW PILOT.

Moody, a 28-year veteran, is the third county sheriff’s officer injured while on duty in the courthouse within the last month.

“Unfortunately one never knows what might happen in a courtroom and I applaud the quick thinking and response of all officers involved,” Saudino said. “Furthermore, I wish Lieutenant Moody a speedy recovery.”

The outbreak occurred in Superior Court Judge Bonnie Mizdol’s courtroom around 11 a.m. Because of the nature of Family Court hearings, which are held behind closed doors, it was unclear why Sadler and his ex-wife, Leslie Bourne, 44, were there.

Sadler, 49, of Wood Ridge, was taken to the Bergen County Jail, where he is being held on $30,000 bail, charged with aggravated assault.

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