Police Blotter 2/24-3/1: Big Week for DWIs; Road Rage Ends In Belly Bumping

Monthly RPD Reports can be found here. New: January Activity Report

This is Rutherford publishes incidents that the public may find interesting or informative. The Blotter represents a small fraction of the total calls the RDP responds to regularly. The following information was provided to TIR by the Rutherford Police. All suspects are presumed innocent unless proven guilty. Incidents involving juveniles will not be published.

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Sunday, March 1 - Dispute, Chestnut St

At approximately 7:43 pm a 911 caller reported a dispute between a 59 year old female and a 41 year old male. The male party was already dressed and leaving upon arrival and was uncertain what the argument was initially about but stated he was leaving voluntarily. RPD has responded over 60 times in the past 3 years to the same address.

Sunday, March 1 - DWI, Rt 17 South

At approximately 2:02 am, a Wendy’s employee called to report a woman sleeping in her car that was in the drive-thru and wouldn’t wake up. The 28 year old female from Avanel refused to provide breath samples and was processed and released with the following summonses: DWI, open container in vehicle, reckless operation of a motor vehicle, refusal to provide breath samples.

Saturday, February 29 - Dispute, Union Ave

At approximately 10:24 pm RPD responded to a verbal dispute between a 63 year old male and a 36 year old male. Both parties were spoken to who stated one male was mad at the other because he woke him up from a nap. The dispute was settled at that time.

Saturday, February 29 - DWI, Union Ave

At approximately 7:40 pm Officer Ritter conducted a motor vehicle stop because he saw the driver fail to stop at a stop sign and begin to drive on the wrong side of the road. Field sobriety tests were performed on the 35 year old male driver from Hackensack who refused to give breath samples. He was given 9 summonses including: DWI, careless driving, failure to keep right, refusal to give breath samples and failure to provide documents.

Saturday, February 29 - Dispute, Ames Ave

At approximately 1:15 pm a caller reported his vehicle was being tailgated by another driver on Park Ave, then beeped his horn at the complainant who in turn admitted to giving the middle finger to the other driver. Both drivers exited their vehicles at which point the 57 year old complainant says he was “belly bumped” by the other driver. The caller did not sign a complaint at the time.

Saturday, February 29 - Aid and Assist, Edgewood Place

At approximately 10:29 am an Edgewood Place resident reported a dumpster wrongly laced in front of his home. RPD reported the dumpster was on a trailer in front of the callers home, and contacted the contractor working nearby who stated they’d move the dumpster in 10 minutes.

Saturday, February 29 - Criminal Mischief, Van Riper Ave

A 51 year old male reported his home had been vandalized between 9:00 pm on February 28 and 9:52 am on February 29. He observed a yellow substance believed to be egg yolk and shell on his front door, front walkway, lamp over the door as well as a above a window on the corner of the house. His daughter reported hearing a loud noise at 10:40 pm and observing the yellow substance but she didn’t say anything at the time.

Saturday, February 29 - DWI, Rt 3 West

At approximately 1:00 am, a 52 year old male from Montclair was seen speeding and improperly changing lanes and cutting off other vehicles. He had a BAC of .08 and was released with the following summonses: DWI, unsafe lane change, careless driving, failure to use turn signal, failure to possess registration.

Thursday, February 27 - Suspicious Incident, Union Ave

A 39 year old male reported that his wife had observed a slender Hispanic male, approximately 5 ft 9 in - 5 ft 11 in tall attempting to open their garage. She arrived home and pulled into her driveway at 7:30 pm and observed an unfamiliar slender male pulling up on the garage door handle. She stated when he saw her, he left the premises and entered a black sedan via the passenger side. The car then fled towards Union Ave. The caller conducted a cursory inspection of the residence but did not find any sign of forced entry or theft and had noticed no other suspicious activity.

Wednesday, February 26 - Aid and Assist, Montross Ave

At approximately 9:11 pm, a 21 year old driver of a 2016 Jeep reported he was having difficulty leaving a parking space because he was boxed in by the car in front of and behind his. Officer Alexandra Arnold was able to assist and guide him out.

Wednesday, February 26 - Suspicious Vehicle, Memorial Field

At approximately 5:56 pm a caller reported a male in a red Toyota Rav 4 was parked in the Memorial Field parking lot and was vomiting outside the vehicle. RPD responded and the driver said he wasn’t vomiting, but used the restroom prior to a walk. He did not appear ill.