Paterson, NJ - Sheriff Helps Nab Police Car Thief in Brook - After Dragging / Injuring Detective

Sheriff helps nab Police-Car Thief in brook
Friday, August 31, 2007
HERALD NEWS


PATERSON -- He wasn't dressed for a swim, but Passaic County Sheriff Jerry Speziale plunged into a slimy brook Thursday to help arrest a man who allegedly stole a police car and dragged a detective with it.

At 4:36 p.m., two plainclothes detectives from the Sheriff's Department's warrant unit noticed a Jeep Cherokee stopped on Liberty Street near Wayne Avenue. One detective recognized the driver as having outstanding arrest warrants, according to department spokesman Bill Maer, and they pulled their unmarked Ford Explorer in front of his vehicle.

When detectives asked the driver for his identification, he handed them a Peruvian passport that appeared fake. Realizing he was about to be arrested, the man pushed one of the detectives, exited his car and leaped into their Explorer, Maer said.

As the man, who police say is about 45 years old, started to drive down Liberty Street, Detective Sal Ayoub grabbed onto the Explorer and was dragged for about 700 feet as the driver wove near parked cars on the street.

The two detectives then hopped into the man's Jeep and chased him. They lost him in traffic.

Other officers in the area joined the chase, Maer said. Speziale, on his way to deliver the keynote address at a police academy, joined the chase after he heard the call come in over his police radio.

Within 15 minutes, the man abandoned the vehicle in the driveway of a business at the dead end of Ryerson Avenue. He jumped a fence and climbed into Molly Ann's Brook, a shallow, rocky creek that feeds into the Passaic River, police said.

Employees called police, who quickly responded and searched the area.

Speziale was among the officers who arrived. They hopped the fence and waded in after the man. Several police dogs were also sent in.

After he was caught, the man was taken to St. Joseph's Wayne Hospital. Doctors were evaluating him for health complaints related to ingesting excessive water, Maer said. Ayoub, the detective who was dragged, was also taken to St. Joseph's and was in stable condition Thursday evening.

Police did not release the driver's name. Maer said charges against the man were still being determined but said they would at least include alluding arrest and aggravated assault on a police officer.

Downplaying his role, Speziale said he was just supporting his officers and acting on gut instinct.

"When your guys go in the water, you go too," said Speziale, in a telephone interview.

Speziale was wearing dress pants, new socks and his police boots at the time. All of them, he said, were ruined by the slimy water. He arrived at the event for his speech late, and a little bit wet.

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