Federal Grand Jury Indicts South Jersey Officer Who Pepper-Sprayed Handcuffed Driver Federal Grand Jury Indicts South Jersey Officer Who Pepper-Sprayed Handcuffed Driver
Federal Grand Jury Indicts South Jersey Officer Who Pepper-Sprayed Handcuffed Driver An angry South Jersey police officer doused a drunk driver with pepper spray twice after he’d been handcuffed, then filed a false report about the incident, an indictment returned by a federal grand jury on Thursday alleges. Another officer had handcuffed the disruptive driver and was beginning to put him in the rear of a patrol vehicle at a local gas station when Bridgeton Police John Grier III “grabbed a large can of OC spray and pulled out the pin,” Acting U.S. Attorney Rachael Honig said. Grier, 49, of Cedarville, told the officer to “step back,” then asked the driver, “Do you want to …
Judge To Decide Holding Or Releasing Paterson Police Officer Charged With Assault, Misconduct Judge To Decide Holding Or Releasing Paterson Police Officer Charged With Assault, Misconduct
Judge To Decide Holding Or Releasing Paterson Police Officer Charged With Assault, Misconduct UPDATE: A judge in Paterson will decide Wednesday whether a city police officer charged with assaulting a victim and lying about it should remain jailed or be released from custody. Spencer Finch, 44, of Mahwah has been held in the Bergen County Jail since Friday, records show. The Passaic County Prosecutor's Office charged him with aggravated assault, official misconduct and illegal weapons possession, as well as tampering with public records.  Passaic County Prosecutor Camelia M. Valdes said the 18-year city department veteran beat a victim with his fist and a flashlight and kn…
Social Media Post Leads To Misconduct, Criminal Sex Charges For Longtime NJ Police Officer Social Media Post Leads To Misconduct, Criminal Sex Charges For Longtime NJ Police Officer
Social Media Post Leads To Misconduct, Criminal Sex Charges For Longtime NJ Police Officer A longtime New Jersey police officer has been jailed on sex crime and misconduct allegations that came to light after a social media post called him a "perv," authorities said. Phillipsburg Police officer William Lance, 50, was arrested Tuesday after a social media post made by a resident stated, "Officer Lance is A PERV” and asked viewers to "share" their "stories" "if [they] have one,” Warren County Prosecutor James L. Pfeiffer said in a Wednesday release. A follow-up investigation into the source of the post led to charges for fourth-degree criminal sexual contact and second-degree offic…
Panicked Patrons Flee Following Fight, Bogus 'Shots Fired' Report At Paramus Carnival Panicked Patrons Flee Following Fight, Bogus 'Shots Fired' Report At Paramus Carnival
Panicked Patrons Flee Following Fight, Bogus 'Shots Fired' Report At Paramus Carnival UPDATE: An anxious carnival-goer triggered what became a false report of shots fired at a police-sponsored anti-drug event in Paramus over the weekend. Two men -- one of them an off-duty police officer -- got into an argument around 7 p.m. Saturday at the L.E.A.D. carnival on the grounds of the Westfield Garden State Plaza off Route 17, a source with direct knowledge of the incident told Daily Voice. Witnesses said punches were thrown. Someone then noticed that the officer was armed, heard balloons popping from a water game and called 911 to report shots fired, he said. Several other patr…
Retired NJ Police Chief Who Lied To FBI In Assault On Black Suspect Gets 28 Months In Fed Pen Retired NJ Police Chief Who Lied To FBI In Assault On Black Suspect Gets 28 Months In Fed Pen
Retired NJ Police Chief Who Lied To FBI In Assault On Black Suspect Gets 28 Months In Fed Pen A retired South Jersey police chief whose racist rants made international headlines must spend the next 28 months in federal prison for lying to the FBI about assaulting a black suspect. Frank M. Nucera Jr., 64, of Bordentown was convicted in October 2019 of making false statements to FBI agents who were interviewing him about what was the alleged violation of the 18-year-old suspect’s civil rights during an arrest. Nucera is also awaiting a retrial in U.S. District Court in Camden on additional charges of hate-crime assault and depriving the suspect’s civil rights. The former chief must s…
'Police Misconduct' Presentation At Bergen High School Upsets Parents, Law Enforcement 'Police Misconduct' Presentation At Bergen High School Upsets Parents, Law Enforcement
'Police Misconduct' Presentation At Bergen High School Upsets Parents, Law Enforcement A presentation by a federal official to a Bergen County high school class about “police misconduct” has drawn the ire of some parents and law enforcement alike. Torey Cummings of the U.S. Attorney's Office for Massachusetts used slides during last Friday’s presentation at Ramapo High School in Franklin Lakes that portray an unfairly negative image of police officers, parents said. One slide, titled "Police Violence and People of Color," featured blatantly false and misleading information, they said. Former New York City Police Commissioner Bernard Kerik, who lives in Franklin Lakes, said a…
Police Bodycam Footage Shows Arrest Of Trenton Man Who Died Weeks Later At Hospital Police Bodycam Footage Shows Arrest Of Trenton Man Who Died Weeks Later At Hospital
Police Bodycam Footage Shows Arrest Of Trenton Man Who Died Weeks Later At Hospital New Jersey's chief law enforcement official on Thursday released police bodycam footage of the arrest of a 64-year-old Trenton man who died 18 days later in the hospital. Joseph Ahr Sr., 64, was already being restrained by three police officers when a fourth pepper-sprayed him in the face last July 6, video released by state Attorney General Gurbir S. Grewal shows. “I can’t breathe,” Ahr says over and again, both before and after the officers got him up and sat him handcuffed on the front steps of his Monmouth Street house following a seconds-long struggle. They had responded there followi…
Passaic County Prosecutor Takes Over Paterson Police Internal Affairs Unit Passaic County Prosecutor Takes Over Paterson Police Internal Affairs Unit
Passaic County Prosecutor Takes Over Paterson Police Internal Affairs Unit Passaic County’s prosecutor on Tuesday took control of the Paterson Police Department’s Internal Affairs Division following the civil rights arrests of two city officers by the FBI.  Prosecutor Camelia M. Valdes “will have full oversight” over the division, which is responsible for investigating allegations of misconduct against members of the department, state Attorney General Gurbir S. Grewal said in a joint announcement with her. By so doing, she will “ensure that current and future investigations are conducted thoroughly and fairly, and that officers who engage in misconduct are he…
UPDATE: Deaf Man Shot Dead On Paterson Street Was Subject Of Viral Video Arrest UPDATE: Deaf Man Shot Dead On Paterson Street Was Subject Of Viral Video Arrest
Update: Deaf Man Shot Dead On Paterson Street Was Subject Of Viral Video Arrest UPDATE: A shooting victim killed Sunday night in a notorious drug-ridden Paterson neighborhood was identified as a deaf city man whose arrest three years ago sparked local outrage. Raaseon Adams, 45, was pronounced dead at St. Joseph's Regional Medical Center at 7:10 p.m. less than a half hour after he was shot on Summer Street near Hamilton Avenue, authorities said. They didn't say whether the shooter had been arrested or identified. A video of city police using force to arrest Adams in September 2018 produced a viral video and an investigation by the Passaic County Prosecutor’s Office – …
Ex-Cape May Campground Instructor Accused Of Sexually Assaulting 4 Teen Boys In PA Ex-Cape May Campground Instructor Accused Of Sexually Assaulting 4 Teen Boys In PA
Ex-Cape May Campground Instructor Accused Of Sexually Assaulting 4 Teen Boys In PA A former Cape May campground instructor was arrested on accusations he sexually abused four teenage boys while working as their D.A.R.E. officer in Pennsylvania nearly 20 years ago, authorities announced. James Carey, 52 -- who was the center of a New Jersey State Police investigation for inappropriate conduct with minors at the campground in 2006 -- was arrested Wednesday in Bucks County, PA. A renewed investigation into the former D.A.R.E. officer was launched last spring, when one of the four alleged victims reported Carey's abuse to police. The case was referred to Bucks County DA Mat…
Hudson Prosecutor: Cash Recovered During Investigations Goes Missing Hudson Prosecutor: Cash Recovered During Investigations Goes Missing
Hudson Prosecutor: Cash Recovered During Investigations Goes Missing An internal affairs investigation has been launched at the Hudson County Prosecutor's Office after cash recovered in several different cases went missing, authorities announced Tuesday. All of the missing cash had been recovered from scenes and was being temporarily held for safekeeping, Hudson County Prosecutor Esther Suarez said.  The money was kept in temporary storage in locked safes at the Prosecutor’s Office with limited access by investigative staff. The Prosecutor’s Office Public Integrity Unit, Internal Affairs Section, will be conducting the investigation.  The New Jer…
Englewood Police Chief Lawrence Suffern Retires Englewood Police Chief Lawrence Suffern Retires
Englewood Police Chief Lawrence Suffern Retires Englewood Police Chief Lawrence Suffern retired on Wednesday.  Suffern, who’d been on vacation and was due to return Wednesday, was Bergen County's only Black police chief. He retired effective Thursday, city officials announced in a release. “Best chief ever to have served our great city,” Mayor Michael Wildes said following the announcement. “Respected in the county and serving since he was 18 years old for the last 33 years.” "What a sad day in Englewood this is!" wrote Rasheed J. Goins. "Thank you for your leadership and serving our community with such grace for all these yea…