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An officer responding to a suspicious vehicle call found it occupied, with the alarm intermittently, sounding near the corner of North Stoughton Place and West Main Street shortly after midnight Jan. 2, Detective Lt. William Duran said.
The driver, 41-year-old Harman Bustos, suddenly started the car and drove off as Officer Kevin Helder approached, Duran said.
Bustos committed several violations as police pursued him into Dumont before he eventually pulled into the Stop and Shop parking lot on Columbia Avenue, the lieutenant said.
Police charged Bustos with eluding and possession of drug paraphernalia, while issuing several summonses.
They sent him to the Bergen County Jail only to have a Central Judicial Processing Court judge in Hackensack release him hours later, records show.
Exactly a week later, Officer Gregory Slater stopped a car driven by Bustos near the corner of North Washington Avenue and West Church Street for several violations shortly after 1 a.m. Thursday, Duran said.
Bustos “became extremely uncooperative and failed to provide any documentation to the officer,” the lieutenant said.
He refused to step out of the car and was told he was under arrest, Duran said.
As Slater and backups tried removing Bustos from the car, it moved forward about 10 feet and hit Slater, he said.
Slater sustained injuries that didn’t require hospitalization, the lieutenant said.
Bustos was once again arrested.
He was eventually taken to New Bridge Regional Medical Center, where he remained Friday morning pending an appearance in CJP Court on charges of aggravated assault on a police officer, resisting arrest, eluding and obstruction. He also received several summonses.
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