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Responding Hamilton police are heard making fun of Bordentown Township Police Chief Brian Pesce until they find his badge and ID, NJ Advance Media reported.
Their tone then turns more serious, the video shows.
NJ Advance Media was the first news outlet to report the new detail about the April arrest.
A shorter version of the hour-long video obtained by nj.com can be watched at the end of this Police Tribune report:
Pesce was found in the roadway after a 911 caller reported following a “drunk” driver “weaving all over the place” and almost hitting a mailbox. “He’s gonna kill somebody,” the caller warned of the pickup driver, according to NJ Advance Media.
She called back to say that the pickup had stopped and the driver was “on the ground in the middle of the road … He’s so obliviated,” the outlet said.
The 23-year police veteran is then seen in bodycam footage sprawled out on the ground behind the truck on Friday, April 22.
“Keys in the middle of the road; cellphone in the middle of the road,” one of the responding officers says with a chuckle.
“I took a little spill,” the man on the ground tells the officers.
An officer then walked over and looked at Pesce’s truck, the video shows.
“What the f-k is that? He pissed on his tire and then ‘took a spill?’” the officer asks out loud.
“What’s the problem?” the drunk man on the ground mumbles when the officers ask him for his name.
“You’re sleeping in the middle of the road,” one officer says.
“Your pants are down,” the other officer adds.
“Are you diabetic?” an officer asks the man.
“Not at all,” Pesce replied.
“Probably the wrong answer,” the officer says.
Noticing a wet patch on the ground, the same officer suggests with clear disgust that he “p—ed on his tire and then took a spill,” the video shows.
After the snippy exchanges, one of the officers searches Pesce’s vehicle and finds his police badge — and remarks, “Ohh,” NJ.com said, referring to the hour-plus footage the outlet obtained via an OPRA request.
Both officers then turn off their cameras — with their tone markedly different when the cameras are switched back on, and Pesce now being called “Chief,” the outlet said.
As he is led into an ambulance with a bruised head, the chief sounds confused as he says, “I drove? … I wasn’t driving anywhere.”
Pesce was taken away in an ambulance for his head injury.
Pesce was charged with five traffic offenses, including drunken driving, reckless and careless driving, failing to report an accident, and leaving the scene involving property damage.
Pesce, who had been police chief since 2018, has been put on restricted duty in the department.
An edited version of the video posted by NJ Advance Media can be viewed by clicking here.
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