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Cliffside Man Hospitalized After Disturbance Brings SWAT, Police From Surrounding Towns Cliffside Man Hospitalized After Disturbance Brings SWAT, Police From Surrounding Towns
Cliffside Man Hospitalized After Disturbance Brings SWAT, Police From Surrounding Towns A troubled Cliffside Park man surrendered peacefully after a disturbance at his home triggered a sizable law enforcement response. The 37-year-old resident, who authorities said has a history of emotional trouble, began breaking windows in his Washington Avenue home around 9:30 p.m. Thursday, neighbors said. No one answered the door, so police checked a neighbor's Ring and saw the man going inside his house, they said. Members of a Bergen County Regional SWAT team, a tactical Fort Lee police team and officers from Edgewater, Fairview and Ridgefield joined their Cliffside Park colleagues at…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
Minivan Carrying Developmentally Disabled Occupants Hits Tree in Fair Lawn Minivan Carrying Developmentally Disabled Occupants Hits Tree in Fair Lawn
Minivan Carrying Developmentally Disabled Occupants Hits Tree in Fair Lawn At least two people were hospitalized after a van carrying developmentally disabled occupants slammed into a tree Friday afternoon in Fair Lawn. Two victims -- one of whom had a large cut on his forehead -- were taken to The Valley Hospital in Ridgewood after the crash at 17th and Columbia streets around 3:30 p.m. Borough police and Fair Lawn Rescue members responded along with ambulances from Bergen New Bridge Medical Center and Paramus. A third ambulance was called soon after. Boyd A. Loving took the photo and contributed to this report.

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
Troubled Teen On Hackensack River Bridge Saved By Officer Whose Brother Recently Rescued Her Troubled Teen On Hackensack River Bridge Saved By Officer Whose Brother Recently Rescued Her
Troubled Teen On Hackensack River Bridge Saved By Officer Whose Brother Recently Rescued Her SIBLING HEROES: A suicidal teen who threatened to jump into the Hackensack River was rescued by a New Milford police officer whose brother saved the very same girl two months ago, authorities said. Responding Officer Sam Doran found the troubled 14-year-old sitting on the railing of the Old New Bridge Road bridge shortly before 1:30 a.m. Tuesday, Police Chief Brian Clancy said. It took a half-hour or so, but Doran established a rapport with the girl -- enough so that she was willing to fist-bump him, the chief said. As she did, the officer grabbed the youngster and pulled her from the rail…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
Gun-Related Incident Sends Ridgewood Homeowner For Psychological Evaluation Gun-Related Incident Sends Ridgewood Homeowner For Psychological Evaluation
Gun-Related Incident Sends Ridgewood Homeowner For Psychological Evaluation A troubled Ridgewood homeowner was taken for mental health assistance following a brief incident Saturday morning. Police from surrounding towns rushed to assist their village colleagues following a report of a disturbed man with a gun on Newcomb Road between Grove and Pleasant parks shortly before noon. Ridgewood police alerted and then called off both a SWAT team and village firefighters after quickly gaining control of the situation. "Within eight minutes of the original dispatch, the man was already in protective custody and ready to be taken for help," Police Chief Jacqueline Luthcke …

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
'Kill Me, Shoot!': Teaneck, Bergenfield PD Peacefully End Standoff With Knife-Wielding Man 'Kill Me, Shoot!': Teaneck, Bergenfield PD Peacefully End Standoff With Knife-Wielding Man
'Kill Me, Shoot!': Teaneck, Bergenfield PD Peacefully End Standoff With Knife-Wielding Man A Teaneck police sergeant confronted by a disturbed man on a Bergenfield street was surprised when the stranger pulled out a large knife. "Kill me! Shoot!" the Portuguese native shouted in broken English to Sgt. Ronald Boswell and backup officers from both towns who rushed to the scene, Teaneck Police Chief Glenn O'Reilly said. The tense noontime drama played out on New Bridge Road, across from Veterans Memorial Park in Bergenfield, beginning shortly before 1 p.m. Wednesday. The unidentified man had walked in front of Boswell's car, so the sergeant stopped and got out, O'Reilly said. The …

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Ho-Ho-Kus SWAT Situation Ends Peacefully (PHOTOS) Ho-Ho-Kus SWAT Situation Ends Peacefully (PHOTOS)
Ho-Ho-Kus SWAT Situation Ends Peacefully (Photos) A man who barricaded himself in a Ho-Ho-Kus home apparently with multiple registered firearms was hospitalized after an hour-long standoff, sources say. The Bergen County SWAT team responded to the Lakewood Avenue home just before 5 p.m., apparently as a precaution. It was not clear why authorities responded to the house. The man was later taken to Bergen New Bridge Medical Center for evaluation. It was not clear if he was charged.

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by Cecilia Levine
News
MURDER: Fair Lawn Man, 24, Held In Uncle's Bronx Slaying After Going To HUMC Emergency Room MURDER: Fair Lawn Man, 24, Held In Uncle's Bronx Slaying After Going To HUMC Emergency Room
Murder: Fair Lawn Man, 24, Held In Uncle's Bronx Slaying After Going To Humc Emergency Room A Fair Lawn man was being held in New Jersey in connection with the shooting death of his uncle in the Bronx. Detectives with the Bergen County Prosecutor's Office began investigating after Jonathan Mejia, 24, showed up at the emergency room at Hackensack University Medical Center with his mother on Tuesday, May 3, ranking law enforcement sources confirmed. The suspect's mother "reported that Mejia may have shot and killed his uncle in the Bronx" the night before -- in what's formally known as avunculicide -- and had become suicidal, one of them told Daily Voice. "She reported he did …

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
UPDATE: Standoff Ends Peacefully In Mahwah UPDATE: Standoff Ends Peacefully In Mahwah
Update: Standoff Ends Peacefully In Mahwah A barricaded man surrendered to Friday after a brief standoff in Mahwah. Township officers had gone to the home on Vail Place off Campgaw Road -- barely a half-mile from the Bergen County Police and Fire Academy -- for an unspecified reason shortly before 3:30 p.m. April 22. A Bergen County Regional SWAT team was summoned, along with a Regional Crisis Negotiation Team. The 49-year-old man emerged from the home and was taken into custody without incident shortly before 4:30 p.m., they said. It wasn't immediately clear whether he'd be taken to Bergen New Bridge Medical Center in Paramus or …

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
Home Burglary That Wasn't Brings Police To Quiet Bergen Neighborhood Home Burglary That Wasn't Brings Police To Quiet Bergen Neighborhood
Home Burglary That Wasn't Brings Police To Quiet Bergen Neighborhood A home burglary call that brought local police and backups from surrounding towns to a quiet Park Ridge neighborhood turned into something else, authorities confirmed. K9 units also responded to the call of two intruders ransacking the home off Park Avenue and fleeing out the back around 7:30 p.m. Sunday, responders said. It turns out a troubled relative of the homeowners had apparently concocted the story, they said. He was brought to Bergen New Bridge Medical Center in Paramus for an evaluation. No charges were filed or were expected to be, borough police said. They thanked “all the res…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
Out-Of-State Teen Charged With Sexually Assaulting Underage Paramus Youngster Out-Of-State Teen Charged With Sexually Assaulting Underage Paramus Youngster
Out-Of-State Teen Charged With Sexually Assaulting Underage Paramus Youngster An out-of-state man sexually assaulted an underage Paramus teen multiple times, authorities charged. Elijah Hutchens, 18, of Huntsville, Alabama also had an unsecured gun within the victim’s reach, Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Musella said. Paramus police notified detectives from Musella’s Special Victims Unit of the alleged assault of the under-16 victim last Wednesday, March 16, the prosecutor said. Hutchens was in custody at Bergen New Bridge Medical Center in Paramus, although Musella didn’t explain why. He’s awaiting a first appearance in Central Judicial Processing Court in Hackens…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
Oakland PD: DWI Driver From Franklin Lakes Kicks, Spits On Police Oakland PD: DWI Driver From Franklin Lakes Kicks, Spits On Police
Oakland PD: DWI Driver From Franklin Lakes Kicks, Spits On Police A DWI driver from Franklin Lakes was arrested after he kicked and spit at Oakland police, authorities said. Officers responding to a call of an erratic driver on Long Hill Road on Friday, March 11, spotted a Honda stopped at a green light, Capt. Timothy Keenan said. The driver, Nicholas Pellegrini, 26, was arrested following a field sobriety test and "became combative while being handcuffed," Keenan said. Pelligrini kicked one officer and spit on others while being subdued, the captain said. He was charged with aggravated assault on a police officer, throwing bodily fluids at police, resi…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
UPDATE: Man Who Texted Threat To 'F*cking Kill' Minorities At NJ Mall ID'd, Arrested, Charged UPDATE: Man Who Texted Threat To 'F*cking Kill' Minorities At NJ Mall ID'd, Arrested, Charged
Update: Man Who Texted Threat To 'F*cking Kill' Minorities At NJ Mall ID'd, Arrested, Charged A disturbed man who threatened to kill minorities at a New Jersey mall was charged with making terroristic threats and held for a psychiatric evaluation, authorities said. Frank Passaro, 66, of Hasbrouck Heights wasn't carrying any weapons when Paramus police arrested him without incident in the north parking garage at the Garden State Plaza early Friday afternoon, Feb. 18, Hasbrouck Heights Police Capt. Joseph Rinke said. None were found in warranted searches of his vehicle and home, nor does Passaro have any weapons registered to him, said Rinke, the officer in charge of the departme…

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by Jerry DeMarco