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Wayne Hall, a 29-year-old transient who has claimed to be a “sovereign citizen,” had just been sentenced to 10 days in jail for driving on the suspended list for the sixth time when he “became belligerent and attempted to argue with the judge,” Detective Capt. Timothy Torell said.
City police Officers Sean O'Hara, Carlos Calderin and Jason Mejia, who were handling court security on Tuesday, tried to restrain Hall, who resisted, Torell said.
As fellow Officer Michael McCue joined the trio, Hall “attempted to grab Officer O'Hara's firearm and disarm him,” the captain said. “Hall was then tased, brought under control, handcuffed and led from the courtroom."
O’Hara sustained minor injuries, Torell said.
No one else was hurt, he said.
“This makes two taser events in as many weeks," Mayor Michael Wildes told Daily Voice. "It's a dangerous job, underscoring how vigilant our officers have to be and the need to effectively deploy our police talent and assets to keep our courts safe for everyone."
Police charged Hall with attempting to disarm a police officer, aggravated assault and resisting arrest. They also found two outstanding warrants from Paterson Municipal Court.
Hall remained held Friday in the Bergen County Jail pending a detention hearing in Central Judicial Processing Court in Hackensack.
Hall claims to be a member of the "sovereign citizen" political movement, which opposes taxation, questions the legitimacy of government and believes that its members aren't subject to the law. They are often confrontational with police, usually when being taken into custody
Hall’s criminal history stretches back 17 years and includes charges of aggravated assault on a police officer in Hackensack in 2004.
Charges over the years also include resisting arrest and various drug offenses, records show.
Rochelle Park police arrested him in 2014 after they said they caught Hall with an expired driver's license, 150 Oxycodone pills, four bags of pot, 86 empty zip-locking baggies and $850 in suspected drug money during a Route 17 traffic stop.
Rochelle Park police tangled with him again in March 2017: Hall eventually had to be pepper-sprayed after swinging at officers, authorities charged.
Hall has repeatedly refused to stop driving while suspended – showing police a card claiming that he has “The Right to Travel, The Right to Mode of Conveyance, The Right to Locomotion,” and that police cannot void the exercise of those rights.
SEE: 'Sovereign Citizens' Tangle With Rochelle Park Police After Crash
ALSO SEE: Route 17 stop leads Rochelle Park police to pot, Oxy in Hackensack man’s BMW
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