Crime & Safety

Cop Who Crashed ATV While Drunk Wants Job Back

An appeals court found Joseph Gaeta, a Midland Park police officer, should not have faced a loss of license after he pleaded guilty to DWI for flipping his ATV in Wyckoff.

Now facing a significantly reduced penalty on his drunk driving guilty plea, Midland Park police officer and Wyckoff resident Joseph Gaeta is looking to rejoin the force, according to a news report.

Gaeta, 31, was at a Bergen County Police Academy training exercise in Dec. 2011, where he consumed alcohol as part of a demonstration of field sobriety testing. Hours later, he flipped his ATV at the corner of Godwin and Greenhaven Road in Wyckoff, suffering serious injuries. Wyckoff police charged Gaeta with DWI and Midland Park suspended him without pay. He later pleaded guilty to DWI in municipal court, resulting in the loss of license, fines and treatment.

Last week, Gaeta won an appeal that found the sentence imposed should have been reduced because Gaeta was not driving an automobile and the statute only allowed a fine of up to $200. The municipal court will re-sentence Gaeta on Thursday.

The officer, on the force since 2006, hopes to be reinstated as a police officer in Midland Park, according to an article on northjersey.com.


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