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Police & Fire
UPDATE: Grand Jurors Clear Montclair Officer In Pursuit That Killed Driver, Passenger UPDATE: Grand Jurors Clear Montclair Officer In Pursuit That Killed Driver, Passenger
Update: Grand Jurors Clear Montclair Officer In Pursuit That Killed Driver, Passenger A Montclair police officer did his job properly before a robbery suspect he was pursuing was involved in a crash that killed him and a passenger, a grand jury has found. Officer Michael Kupchak had activated the overhead emergency lights on his marked patrol cruiser in an attempt to stop a vehicle driven by Gregory Dukes on May 10, 2022. In another police vehicle behind him was Officer Brandon Taylor. Video released last year by New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin shows Dukes at first stopping the four-door silver Hyundai on Maple Avenue while investigating a robbery. The …

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
Sheriff IDs NJ Woman Found Dead In Tractor-Trailer Outside MD Costco Distribution Center Sheriff IDs NJ Woman Found Dead In Tractor-Trailer Outside MD Costco Distribution Center
Sheriff IDs NJ Woman Found Dead In Tractor-Trailer Outside MD Costco Distribution Center New details have been released by the Frederick County Sheriff's Office after a woman's body was found dead inside the cab of a tractor-trailer over the weekend. Investigators say that Candice Thompson, 46, has been identified as the victim who was found inside Matthew Sidney Watley's truck after he was busted for allegedly getting behind the wheel while he was intoxicated. Both the driver and victim are from Sicklerville, New Jersey. Watley was charged with multiple counts of murder on Sunday after a curious case outside the Costco Distribution Center on Intercostal Drive in Monrovia. Th…

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by Zak Failla
Police & Fire
Pursuit Goes Up, Down Route 208, Ends In Wyckoff Crash: Franklin Lakes PD Pursuit Goes Up, Down Route 208, Ends In Wyckoff Crash: Franklin Lakes PD
Pursuit Goes Up, Down Route 208, Ends In Wyckoff Crash: Franklin Lakes PD A late-night pursuit that began in Franklin Lakes ended with a crash in Wyckoff and all four occupants bailing out, authorities said. Franklin Lakes Officer Matthew Garrison was on routine patrol when he spotted a suspicious-looking BMW X2 on Longbow Drive near Franklin Lake Road around 10 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 30, Capt. Mark McCombs said. An attempt to stop the vehicle on nearby Orchard Lane prompted the driver to hit the gas and speed off, he said. Items were tossed out of the gold SUV's window as it headed south on Route 208. It exited on Cedar Hill Avenue only to get back on 208 going …

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
10 Packed Into Pickup Chased Down By Police, Rush-Hour Traffic Stopped On GS Parkway 10 Packed Into Pickup Chased Down By Police, Rush-Hour Traffic Stopped On GS Parkway
10 Packed Into Pickup Chased Down By Police, Rush-Hour Traffic Stopped On GS Parkway Nearly a dozen people packed into a pickup truck stopped weekend rush-hour traffic on the Garden State Parkway after they tried to run from a brigade of area police. A few in the group of mostly juveniles were reportedly seen dashing north on the southbound Parkway toward the New York State border before police nabbed them shortly after 4:30 p.m. Friday, Aug. 18. Montvale police seized two adults and eight minors with help from New Jersey State Police, Bergen County sheriff's officers and colleagues from Park Ridge, Saddle River, Upper Saddle River and Woodcliff Lake, Montvale Police C…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Police Chase Ends In Stolen Car Arrest Off Route 4 Police Chase Ends In Stolen Car Arrest Off Route 4
Police Chase Ends In Stolen Car Arrest Off Route 4 A fugitive who crashed a stolen car while being chased by Rochelle Park police ran across six lanes of traffic on Route 4 before he was captured in Paramus, authorities said. Officer Hasan Shah was on Essex Street when he spotted the BMW 5 Series sedan, which had been reported stolen out of New York City, around 8:45 a.m. Tuesday, Aug. 15, Capt. James DePreta said. The driver, Adonis Padilla, 27, of New York, hit the gas, leading a brief pursuit that ended when he hit a light pole at the eastbound Route 4 entrance ramp from Paramus Road, the captain said Wednesday. Padilla -- who was wante…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Patrol Units Damaged As Boy, 15, Tops 100MPH In Clifton Police Pursuit Through Several Towns Patrol Units Damaged As Boy, 15, Tops 100MPH In Clifton Police Pursuit Through Several Towns
Patrol Units Damaged As Boy, 15, Tops 100MPH In Clifton Police Pursuit Through Several Towns A 15-year-old stolen car thief damaged two Clifton police vehicles while failing to elude his pursuers, authorities said. A police chase had passed through Passaic, Nutley, East Rutherford and Secaucus – with speeds exceeding 100 miles an hour -- before heading back to Clifton, where a chain-reaction crash occurred, Detective Lt. Robert Bracken said. Officer Mohammed Rayyan was the first to spot the 2021 Ford Bronco on southbound Route 21 near Ackerman Avenue shortly after 7:30 p.m. Monday, May 15. The driver of the vehicle, which had been reported stolen out of Woodland Park earlier in t…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Pursuit-Crash Of Stolen Car Hospitalizes Six In Elizabeth Pursuit-Crash Of Stolen Car Hospitalizes Six In Elizabeth
Pursuit-Crash Of Stolen Car Hospitalizes Six In Elizabeth Six people were hospitalized after a stolen vehicle leading a police pursuit crashed in Elizabeth Monday night, May 15, authorities said. The stolen had carrying two suspects ran a traffic light and struck a few other cars around 10 p.m., near Westfield and Elmora avenues, city spokesperson Ruby Contreras said. Multiple people were taken to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. The suspects fled on foot — with one in custody and the other possibly still at large as of Tuesday morning.

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by Cecilia Levine
Police & Fire
Clifton Stolen Car Chase Ends In Newark Crash Clifton Stolen Car Chase Ends In Newark Crash
Clifton Stolen Car Chase Ends In Newark Crash A stolen car pursuit that began in Clifton ended with a crash in Newark and three occupants in the wind, authorities said. Clifton Police Officer Matthew Rugel was in the area of Broad Street and Elmwood Drive when he spotted the 2020 Audi, which had been reported stolen out of Hazlet and connected to subsequent crimes, shortly after 7 p.m. Tuesday, May 2. Rugel tried to stop the vehicle, but the driver sped off through the streets of Clifton and eventually onto eastbound Route 3, Detective Lt. Robert Bracken said. Witnesses said speeds reached 120 miles an hour as the pursuit continued on…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
WILD CHASE: 3 Caught When Overnight Little Ferry Crash Ends Secaucus Police Pursuit WILD CHASE: 3 Caught When Overnight Little Ferry Crash Ends Secaucus Police Pursuit
Wild Chase: 3 Caught When Overnight Little Ferry Crash Ends Secaucus Police Pursuit Three teens were hospitalized in custody following a stolen vehicle pursuit from Secaucus that ended in an overnight crash in Little Ferry. Police were chasing a 2014 Dodge Durango reported stolen out of Weehawken when it veered off the road and slammed into an evergreen in the front yard of a home where Moonachie Road bends into Liberty Street. The impact left the tree bent at a precarious angle. Two juveniles were quickly seized after the crash around 12:30 a.m. Wednesday, May 3. Little Ferry Police K9 Timmy and Lt. John Andronaco found the third hiding behind a shed on nearby Verlock …

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Fleeing Wrong-Way Driver Captured After Ramming Passaic Police Cars, Civilian Vehicles Fleeing Wrong-Way Driver Captured After Ramming Passaic Police Cars, Civilian Vehicles
Fleeing Wrong-Way Driver Captured After Ramming Passaic Police Cars, Civilian Vehicles Thankfully no one was hurt in a wild pursuit in the City of Passaic in which several vehicles were struck by an out-of-control driver. The driver was captured after hitting two police vehicles while going the wrong way down a one-way street and then mistakenly turning into a dead end Thursday night, Passaic Mayor Hector Carlos Lora said. Carlos A. Tejada, 29, was headed down Jefferson Street from Main Avenue when his vehicle struck a police unit occupied by an officer coming from the opposite direction near Hope Avenue around 8 p.m. April 27, Lora said. Tejada hit another police car a…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Wanted Suspect Caught After Ramming Wallington Police Car In Escape Attempt Wanted Suspect Caught After Ramming Wallington Police Car In Escape Attempt
Wanted Suspect Caught After Ramming Wallington Police Car In Escape Attempt A suspect wanted out of Carlstadt rammed a Wallington police car with her SUV in an escape attempt before she was chased down in East Rutherford, authorities said. Officer Kasper Zielinski spotted accused shoplifter Amy Putrino, 38, of Paterson, leaving the GNC store on Paterson Avenue, Police Chief Carmello J. Imbruglia said on Tuesday, April 25. The purple-haired Putrino, who fit the description of a woman wanted by Carlstadt police, got into a distinctive-looking Honda Element cited in their alert, the chief said. Zielinski "started to pull closer to her vehicle in his patrol unit when …

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Motorcyclist Fleeing Police Dies, Passenger Seriously Injured In South Jersey Crash Motorcyclist Fleeing Police Dies, Passenger Seriously Injured In South Jersey Crash
Motorcyclist Fleeing Police Dies, Passenger Seriously Injured In South Jersey Crash A motorcyclist was killed and a passenger seriously injured in a crash following an attempted police stop in South Jersey, authorities said. The crash occurred on Route 687 West after a Pemberton Township police officer tried to stop the cyclist, who crashed into a civilian's vehicle near the intersection of Davis Street in Pemberton shortly after 5:16 p.m. last Thursday, April 20, New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin said. The as-yet unidentified motorcyclist was killed and a passenger -- also not yet identified -- was seriously injured in the crash, Platkin said. State law and his…

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by Jerry DeMarco