Calls for Release of Traffic Stop Records as Accusations Fly

Bergen County Democrats are calling on the county police department to release records related to their arrival at the Route 208 traffic stop of a freeholder last week.


Maura DeNicola, a former Franklin Lakes mayor and Republican freeholder, was pulled over by a sherrif's officer last Wednesday night on her way home from a public meeting, and the car she was driving was towed due to an expired registration.


County police officers reportedly showed up soon afterward, and the sheriff's department alleged that they had interfered on behalf of the elected official. DeNicola, meanwhile, suggested that she had been the victim of harassment by the sheriff's officer over her position against a proposal for the department to take over the functions of the county police department.

While DeNicola took responsibility for the lapse in her vehicle's registration, she has questioned the reason for the traffic stop (reportedly for moving too slowly on the highway) and told The Record that it "was not my first episode with the sheriff's department."

Democrats are calling foul, however, alleging that DeNicola may have used her political influence to have the county police department intervene in the stop.

Democratic Freeholder Steve Tanelli, steering clear of the accusations against DeNicola, said that the records should be released to ensure that "animosity between the two departments" is not posing a threat to public safety.

"I fully expect the County Police to release recordings and all documents related to a recent traffic stop that has been called into question to the Freeholder Board for a thorough review," he said Wednesday.

DeNicola has maintained, most recently in an interview with NJ.com, that she made no effort to obtain special treatment from county police officers during the incident.

"I did not call the county police to bail me out, and any allegation to the contray is flat out lies," DeNicola said.