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Officers responding to a call found a Toyota SUV with a green light idling in a left-turn lane on Railroad Avenue shortly before 4 a.m. Oct. 7, according to a report filed by one of them.
Jorge A. Martinez Jr. was alone in the vehicle and had his head down as they pulled, the officers said. Once they did, Martinez suddenly turned onto Rochelle Avenue headed north, they said.
They pulled him over near the Rochelle Park firehouse.
Martinez -- a Democrat running for Township Committee in the upcoming Nov. 7 local elections -- smelled of alcohol, the officers reported.
During questioning, they said, Martinez told them he'd come from a friend's house in what the officer said sounded like "Elfwood Park."
Asked point-blank whether he'd been drinking that night, Martinez said no, according to the police report.
Martinez had both bloodshot, watery eyes and slurred speech, it says.
He uttered the standard "I live down the block," which Officer Evan Migliore wrote "can be a common answer for someone attempting to gain sympathy in order to avoid a potential police action."
Migliore said he began conducting a field test and immediately recognized five of a possible six indicators of impairment -- including Martinez losing track of the officer's finger during a horizontal gaze exercise.
He also "appeared to sway" during the test, the police report says.
In addition, it says, Martinez failed the heel-to-toe field test in 7 or 8 categories, including actually trying to walk heel-to-toe and beginning the test before the officer had completed his instructions.
Things didn't go better on the one-legged stand, the report says
After bringing Martinez to police headquarters, the officers observed him for 20 minutes. He again said he didn't drink that night and wouldn’t submit to an Alcotest gauge, Migliore reported.
Police issued summonses to Martinez for driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs, refusing to submit to a breath test, careless driving and obstructing the passage of other vehicles, the officer wrote.
Martinez's wife picked him up at headquarters, signing a potential liability form, shortly after 6 a.m., the report says.
Martinez didn't return messages from Daily Voice seeking comment that began at 4 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 17.
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