This section is based on data provided to the Northern Valley Press by neighborhood police departments. Due to pending court appearances and other variations, the following information shall be read in “press time” context.
TENAFLY, N.J.—On Saturday, Jan. 19 at about 1:10 a.m., Officer Maxwell Werner was on routine patrol on East Clinton Avenue when he observed a Toyota sedan swerving in the eastbound lane directly in front of him.
Officer Werner activated his emergency lights and stopped the vehicle at the intersection of Buckingham Road. The driver, later identified as Manolo Morales, 26, of Pomona, N.Y., was argumentative and refused to provide his identification and vehicle documents. During this initial interaction, Officer Werner smelled the odor of an alcoholic beverage and observed evidence of drug use inside Mr. Morales’s vehicle.
Back-up officers responded to the scene and despite their best efforts to convince Morales to exit the vehicle peacefully, officers were forced to break the driver’s window to gain access and unlock the door.
Morales was placed under arrest at the scene and transported to police headquarters for processing. At headquarters, Morales continued to be belligerent towards officers, refused to provide breath samples, and was uncooperative during his processing.
Morales was eventually processed and charged with resisting arrest, obstructing administration of law, possession of a controlled dangerous substance (less than 50 grams of marijuana), as well as multiple motor vehicle summonses, including: driving while intoxicated, refusing to submit to a breath test, failure to maintain lane, careless driving, and driving while suspended.
Based upon criminal justice reform guidelines, Morales was released to a responsible party after being served with the above summonses.
“This incident highlights the proactive efforts of officers to ensure the safety of our community by removing intoxicated drivers from our roadways. The Tenafly Police Department encourages you to report suspected drunk or unsafe drivers to your local police department to investigate,” said Capt. Michael deMoncada, in a statement.