In a scene right out of a Franz Kafka novel, a Hoboken resident defending a complaint against him in Hoboken Municipal Court was denied a copy of the allegations he is charged with-- by the Hoboken Police Department!
Yes, it's true.
GA will fill in the blanks.
The Accused is Perennial Thorn in the ass of the Dark Side, Roman Brice. The Accuser is 2nd Ward Councilwoman Beth Mason, a frequent subject of Brice's political coverage on MSV.
Does it make sense now?
Because the Hoboken Police Department does share police complaints with their "friends"- oh, GA can show you that, but not today.
Had Brice identified himself as the proprietor of a smear blog that regularly attacks Reform and (for example) juxtaposes photos of Mayor Zimmer with monkeys, the police complaint would have arrived with flowers and a box of chocolates. In an email.
This is absolute, outrageous misconduct.
A Hoboken resident defending himself in Court against allegations in a police report and the legal authorities who took the complaint will not give him a copy?
GA believes this conduct should be reported to the New Jersey State Commision of Investigation (S.C.I.). SCI is an " independent fact-finding agency whose mission is to expose organized crime, public corruption and waste and to recommend reforms in the service of the citizens of New Jersey."
How about reforming the HPD so that ACCUSED are given copies of Complaints filed against them? Click HERE to inform the SCI about Kafkaesque- hijinks in Hoboken.
You know what this is about, people?
It's about creating an atmosphere of fear and intimidation, where members of Reform cannot attend public meetings, participate in volunteer service for Hoboken or SERVE A SUBPOENA without FEAR of ginned-up "harassment" charges. Of course, this is all passively encouraged by a police department that does not provide The Accused with a copy of the allegations against him or her.
Now, GA believes there are good and honest police in Hoboken. So why didn't they give Brice a copy of the Mason "harassment" complaint?
Brice has no way to know what version of "facts" Mason told the HPD. How is he supposed to defend himself in Court?
Yes, people. GA is reminded of the brilliant Orsen Welles adaptation of Kafka's, The Trial.
The Trial (1924) is about a man, Josef K, who is arrested and put on trial, but never explained why. The film opens with an allegory from the novel, which encapsulates the novel’s central point: a man goes to a city containing the “law”, but a guard at the gate warns him not to enter. The man obeys, but spends his entire life persuading the guard to let him in. Just before the man dies, the guard says that this door was made just for him, but now he must close it. The story itself begins with Josef awakened at 6:15 AM by two inspectors who inform him that he’s arrested and suspiciously scrutinizes all of his words. Although under arrest, he is not taken into custody and the inspectors interrogate him intermittently during his daily routine. As he goes through his normal activities, everyone he talks to speaks to him as though he is guilty of something, just as the inspectors do, and he continually attempts to defend himself. At the end of the film, two inspectors throw Josef into a pit, toss in dynamite, and Josef dies in the explosion.No such dramatic endings in Hoboken, like exploding horses.
But the point is every subject of a police complaint in Hoboken who requests a copy of the complaint should be given one, no matter WHO they are. No excuses.
Where's our 100 k a year public safety director?
ReplyDeleteMayor Zimmer has no control over the HPD. She hired the Invisible man (John Tooke) for public safety director, supposedly elevated Garcia to show she supports latinos and in thew ake of her botched termination of Alicea, now is going to keep him until he retires and elevates his pension for a year or two at top salary. If she decides to make Ferrante the new chief she can't until Garcia decides to retire.
ReplyDeleteIt's all about the 17 million dollar bike lanes for washington street. Everything else is going to pot. Zimmer doesn't support the folks who made her. She will screw G.A. and Brice if she thinks it's not advantageous to her political career. Zimmer is not capable of grabbing the bull by the horns, nobody fears her. So she deflects her weaknesses with talk of flood walls and bike lanes as her base ( kids first ) flee in droves. Who will be left by next November? Can't win an election with less than 40%
ReplyDeleteNo, its a civil rights issue.
DeleteDark Siders, Reformers and everyone else in-between have a right to a copy of a police complaint filed against them. It should not require an OPRA request either, just proof of ID.
After 2 detectives spent 1 hour grilling me over a satirical blog post in August 2012 responding to a moronic, abusive complaint, I requested a copy of the police report. I filed an OPRA, got nothing. I was told there was no police report on file. Funny, because I have a copy of it now. And that is one of many stories waiting to be told.
What an odd series of comments. Are you suggesting that the Mayor ought to be focused on being feared rather than on protecting the city from flooding?
DeleteHow can he be denied? It's his legal right, much like handing out a subpoena. Hopefully Horsey has an attorney friend who can act on his behalf to get a copy of the complaint. There has got to be a judge who will enforce the request.
ReplyDeleteCourt complaints are maintained by the court not the police department.
ReplyDeleteThe complaint that the police write and file, not the Court compaint.
DeleteYou can get the complaint through a discovery request to the prosecutor. The police can always bury their own records by claiming there's an ongoing investigation and they pretty much do that as a matter of routine - no nefarious reason required - unless they themselves have a reason to want the information out there.
DeleteThanks. If the report doesn't go to the prosecutor, what then? Anyone accused of wrongdoing by another person should have access to the allegations made against them. There are plenty of litigious and/or malicious kooks out there, you know.
DeleteA disorderly persons case begins with the swearing out of a complaint. This can be done by the victim or by a police officer on the basis of a police investigation (which can consist of nothing more than taking the alleged victim's statement). This complaint has to exist for the case to exist and the prosecutor has it. The alleged perp has an absolute right to receive it in discovery since obviously you can't defend against something you haven't seen.
DeleteAny complaint is a court complaint. If you are talking about a report that's a different story. All police complaints are given by the court and maintained by the court.
ReplyDeleteBecause Beth is, sadly, a Hoboken councilperson and has a say in the Hoboken judge's compensation, this matter should be removed to another municipality's court.
ReplyDeleteIt was: http://www.hobokenhorse.com/2014/09/sign-of-times-beth-mason-leaves-court.html
DeleteThe HPD has been an uncooperative force with Zimmer since Day 1
ReplyDeleteThe only time they are happy is when they are getting automatic raises and special added time watching PSEG and construction while sitting against their vehicles and ignoring traffic jams. Too busy ticketing Uber cars so their taxi owner friends can run a sleazy hack service
The HPD couldn't honor Roman's request because there are too many complaints by, for, about and against Mrs. Richard G. Mason.
ReplyDelete