CRESSKILL, N.J.—On Aug. 24 at 1:56 a.m., Patrolman Shawn Cole observed a vehicle stopped in a construction site. He pulled alongside the vehicle and attempted to get the attention of the driver to determine why he was stopped at that location.
The driver did not see Cole’s gestures and/or hear his verbal statements, so Cole activated his patrol car’s overhead lights and exited his vehicle to make contact with the driver.
In a four-page incident report, Cole describes what became a sometimes confrontational driving while intoxicated arrest of a 57-year-old man from Tenafly. During the motor vehicle stop, Cole detected the odor of alcoholic beverage and asked the driver how much he had to drink, to which he replied “one glass of wine.” Back up arrived.
The man, pressed to reveal if he had only had one glass of wine, “began to utter multiple profanities while proclaiming that [the officers] were ‘wasting [their] time’ and ‘should be dealing with really bad people,’ but that he respected [the officers] for ‘doing [their] job.’”
The driver reportedly laughed at requests to do sobriety tests, and mocked the officers during the entirety of instructions. At the conclusion of the tests, the man was placed under arrest for driving while intoxicated.
While transporting the man to police headquarters, he told officers “you are lucky that I am not a bad guy, because if I was, I would cut your throat with a knife.” Cole said he ignored the comment in an effort to deescalate the situation.
At headquarters, the man repeatedly refused to provide breath samples and continued antagonizing officers.
He was charged with driving while intoxicated and issued several motor vehicle summonses before being released to the custody of his wife.