SHARE

Driver In Multi-Town Bergen Police Chase Freed Without Bail

PARAMUS, N.J. -- A Jersey City man who led police on a chase Friday that ended when the car he was driving blew a rear tire and crashed into a pole on Route 17 in Paramus was ordered released without bail the next day.

Kurt Dozier

Kurt Dozier

Photo Credit: MUGSHOT: Courtesy BERGEN COUNTY SHERIFF
The Crown Vic blew a rear tire and hit a pole.

The Crown Vic blew a rear tire and hit a pole.

Photo Credit: COURTESY: Chuck Bravo

A judge required Kurt Dozier, 48, to wear an ankle monitoring bracelet, among the conditions of his release, a source with direct knowledge of the incident told Daily Voice. 

Dozier faces an assortment of charges from Englewood, Paramus, Washington Township and the Bergen County Sheriff's Office, including resisting arrest and eluding.

Records show he also has a history of arrests, including one recently in Middlesex County that involved a car stolen out of Clifton.

A judge, however, found that Dozier didn't meet the "risk assessment" criteria under New Jersey's new Bail Reform and Speed Trial Act, which went into effect Jan. 1, to keep him behind bars until a trial.  

The bail reform law came about amid complaints that some defendants were unfairly being denied their freedom pending trial while more dangerous criminals who could post high bails were freed.

Judges in New Jersey now assess whether defendants go free or remain jailed based on the possibility that they'll skip court, pose a danger to the community or will try to intimated witnesses or victims.

Other considerations include how old the offender is, whether the crime was violent, past convictions and other pending charges.

Dozier was taken into custody Friday as workers at a nearby office building watched the drama end (see video above).

An Englewood traffic officer tried pulling the white Crown Victoria over and it sped off, eventually heading west on Route 4.

An alert was issued for the vehicle, which apparently was a decommissioned police cruiser. It had a spotlight attached to the driver's side and no front license plate, responders said.

Paramus police ended up chasing the sedan from northbound Route 17 onto the northbound Garden State Parkway before the driver turned off into Washington Township.

Township police picked up the chase, as the driver "began dumping stuff from the car" on Ridgewood Road, one said.

The pursuit eventually returned to Route 17 -- this time headed south -- with more than a dozen police cars involved. Soon after, the rear tire was down to the rim before the vehicle crashed.

to follow Daily Voice Paramus and receive free news updates.

SCROLL TO NEXT ARTICLE