Officer Ronald E. Freeman, III In Loving Memory

BIOGRAPHY

Ronald E. Freeman, III, 36, of Clifton, entered into rest on May 28, 2012. Born in Westwood, he lived most of his life in Clifton.

Ronald was a Police Officer with the Passaic Police Department for the past 16 years and was a member of PBA Local #14. A parishioner of St. Andrew the Apostle RC Church, Clifton, Ronald was a member of the Clifton Moose Lodge # 657.

Devoted father of Ryan. Loving son of Ronald E., Jr. and Connie (Bonfiglio) Freeman of Clifton. Dear brother of Christopher and his wife Charise of Lanoka Harbor. Cherished grandson of Ron and Virginia Freeman, Pal and the late Fred Bonfiglio. Loving uncle of Kaitlyn and Brianna. Cherished love of Valerie Sanchez.

Funeral Friday 10 AM at the Shook Funeral Home, 639 Van Houten Ave., Clifton. Interment, Ascension Cemetery, Airmont, NY. Visiting Thursday 2-4 and 7-9 PM at the funeral home.

In lieu of flowers, donations made to Christopher Freeman to be held in trust for Ryan Freeman’s Education Fund, would be greatly appreciated. http://www.ShookFH.com

VISITATION

Thursday May 31, 2012, 2-4 PM – 7-9 PM at Shook Funeral Home
Click for Map and Directions

FUNERAL SERVICE

Friday June 1, 2012, 10 AM at Shook Funeral Home
Click for Map and Directions

For more information or to donate, please click this link.

http://www.shookfh.com/sitemaker/sites/ShookF1/obit.cgi?user=644008FreemanIII&ref=nf

Police: Three Cars And One House In Englewood Target Of Arson « CBS New York

Police: Three Cars And One House In Englewood Target Of Arson « CBS New York.

State Of New Jersey Acting Governor Issues State Of Emergency

TRENTON, N.J. — New Jersey’s acting governor has declared a state of emergency in the wake of the powerful winter storm that roared into the state on Sunday.

State Senate President Steve Sweeney, who is filling in while Gov. Chris Christie and Lt. Gov. Kim Guadagno are out of state, issued the order Sunday night.

But a decision on whether state offices would be open Monday has not been made.

Forecasters are expecting 12 to 20 inches in most areas by the time the snow stops early Monday. Blizzard warnings remain in effect for the eastern half of the state, while winter storm warnings were in place for western New Jersey. If you are caught on the roads you are subject to fines and being towed.

Breaking News:::: Major Gas Main Was Just Busted

Passaic N.J. Major gas main was just busted by a construction company at the corner of Main Avenue and Highland Avenue. The gas leak is reported in the new school. Multiple agencies are responding at this time. Passaic Fire is requesting P.S.E & G on a rush. Main Avenue is being blocked off by the Passaic Police at this time expect major delays in the area. Homes are being evacuated in the area.

Update– 2:45 Passaic Fire evacuating all Highland Avenue residents in the area. Clifton Police requested to block off Main Avenue in Clifton.

Update–2:49 Passaic Fire loads the fire hoses as a precautionary measure. Additional Fire trucks arrive on scene to help with evacuations. Construction company is shutting down all of their generators in the area.

Update–2:50 P.S.E & G representative on location at this time, P.S.E & G rep awaiting the gas shut off team.

Update–2:55 Passaic Police reaching out to the Passaic County Sheriff Department for more officers to block off streets in the area.

Update–2:57 P.S.E & G Gas shut off team on location and attempting to shut off the gas main on Main Avenue and Highland.

Update–3:09 As per Passaic Police and Passaic Fire all units will be leaving the scene within 15 minutes. P.S.E & G shut off the gas at this time.

P.B.J.N Staff on behalf of the residents of the City Of Passaic would like to thank the Passaic Police department and the Passaic Fire department for keeping us safe and protected.

P.B.J.N Exclusive Report

Alert: Cops with Radar guns standing on Brook & Garfield in Passaic

As I am posting this(1:30 pm), 2 Passaic police officers (without a car) are standing with radar guns, aiming them down Brook Ave towards Broadway, and stopping cars that are going over the speed limit. Watch your speed!

PBJN does not condone speeding. This warning will actually cause people to watch their speed, without the monetary penalty of a ticket!

Pedestrian Struck This Afternoon

Passaic Park– A pedestrian crossing the street, was struck by an auto at 6:40 PM tonight. The pedestrian was at the the intersection of  Van Houten Ave and Waverly Place. Passaic police department, E.M.S, the Fire department, as well as Hatzolah EMS were all on scene. The patient was transported to the hospital by Passaic Fire EMS in stable condition.

Police chase thieves innocent bystander dead

NEWARK, N.J. (AP) — Police say an innocent bystander was killed in a crash by two suspects who were fleeing police in northern New Jersey.

Authorities say the incident began early Tuesday in Elizabeth, when three men suspected of breaking into cars were spotted and chased by police. One was apprehended.

Police say his two companions sped north into Newark, where their stolen sport utility vehicle collided with a car driven by 42-year-old Heather Clemens of Newark. She was pronounced dead at the scene.

Police say the suspects fled into nearby Weequahic Park and remain at large.

When will the police learn not to chase, last year a little girl from Fairlawn was killed during a police chase as well. PCJN

wcbs880.com

Protest in Passaic

A protest will take place on Saturday June 27 in front of City Hall at approximately 12pm in protest of police brutality. For an update on this post please check back often.

Passaic cop blames politics

CLIFTON — Officer Erica Rivera, one of the two Passaic police officers suspended in connection with a case of alleged police brutality, spoke publicly Thursday for the first time since a video was released of her partner striking an unarmed man with his fist and a baton. Buy this photo Rivera, who is seen on the video pacing around her partner, Officer Joseph J. Rios III, as he wrestled with the Passaic resident, did not speak about the incident itself but said her suspension was a result of political wrangling in City Hall. Specifically, she and her attorney, Miles Feinstein, said Mayor Alex D. Blanco suspended Rivera without pay because she is married to former Mayor Samuel Rivera’s son. “I think at this time, it’s personal, and Rios was suspended with pay for something more serious,” Rivera said in an interview at Feinstein’s Clifton office. “I think they should have looked at all the positive things I’ve done for the last six years and [I] should not have been suspended.” On May 29, Rios struck Ronnie Holloway in the face with his fist and used his baton several times, according to the video, which sparked a protest in front of City Hall against police brutality. The video shows Rios throwing Holloway against the hood of his cruiser and then throwing him to the ground, at which point he punches Holloway in the face and strikes him with his baton as Holloway lies on his back. Rios was first suspended with pay, but Blanco — under intense public pressure — changed his mind and issued Rios’ suspension without pay. Rivera was immediately suspended without pay and Feinstein believes it is because she is related to former Mayor Rivera, who is in federal prison on corruption charges. “The differential could very well be her last name,” Feinstein said. City spokesman Keith Furlong declined comment on the Rivera family allegations from Feinstein, but issued a statement from Blanco. “The administration is confident that they have taken the appropriate disciplinary action and we’re certain that all facts will come out in the ongoing investigation,” he said. Rivera declined to comment through Feinstein about whether she thought Rios acted properly or about her actions during the incident. Rivera did not physically get involved with Holloway, but she allegedly filed a false police report of the incident, saying she was struck several times with Rios’ baton by accident. The video appears to contradict that report. Neither Rivera nor Feinstein commented on the charges filed against her. The Passaic County Prosecutor’s Office is investigating the incident. During Thursday’s interview, Feinstein said Blanco acted hastily when he suspended his client, which cast a veil of guilt in the public perception. “To take away the presumption of innocence is an absolute disgrace,” Feinstein said. “What concerns us at this point is the suspension without pay. It came at a time when she has not been charged criminally. She still has not been charged criminally.” Rivera’s interview on Thursday comes more than a week after Rios held a news conference claiming he did nothing wrong. “On behalf of Officer Rios, our position is that neither Officer Rios nor Officer Rivera did anything wrong and do not deserve to be suspended without pay,” Rios’ attorney, Anthony Iacullo, said Thursday. E-mail: macinnes@northjersey.com

Breaking News 2 Robberies in the last 10 minutes by gunpoint

The passaic police department is on a search for  a green Mercedes older model  with scratches on the side door. Shots were fired at victim #1 but Thank G-D the gunman missed, nothing was taken from him. A 2nd victim was outside the Home Depot in Down town passaic. Victim # 2 was robbed but no shots were fired and a hand gun was displayed.

Update; 11:17Pm 6 Passaic County Units are in passaic searching for the gunman.

PCJN is first to report this story as well as all Breaking News

Fire On High Street In Passaic

A fire broke out tonight on High Street near Boulevard in a home belonging to a Frum family, completely gutting it. Hatzolah of North Jersey and local EMS was on the scene, but thankfully the home was empty and their services were not needed. No injuries were reported to the firefighting crews who responded in from Clifton, Paterson, Wallington, Carlstadt, and as far out as wayne,  to assist the Passaic Fire Department in this 3 alarm fire. The house destroyed was in fact the Merilis Family.

PassaicJews Moderator’s Car Towed in Passaic – Newborn Infant Stranded

Full letter with links to photos can be found at the end of this post.

Passaic, NJ — Forget to move your car for alternate side parking in Brooklyn, Newark, Monsey or Clifton – you will pay a moderate fine.

Forget to move your car in Passaic – you will pay a fine, have your car towed, run around Passaic for half-a-day, get the run-around at the police station, then pay towing and storage charges.

File photo of a car being towed.

Recently, the moderator of PassaicJews.com, a popular yahoo group with the Passaic Jewish community, had his car towed as it was parked outside a pediatricians office in Passaic, stranding his mother with his newborn baby. Their crime? Failing to notice an alternate side parking sign 200 feet down the street.

As the moderator of PassaicJews, Michael Feigin was able to immediately post an urgent message on PassaicJews and secured a ride for his mother and newborn daughter. However, Mr. Feigin questions what someone without access to the resources he had would have done.

About a year ago, the Passaic community was up in arms about the alternate side towing, and tried to get the policy changed, without any success. At that time, this reporter was present when Passaic City Councilman Chaim Munk was asked what it would take to stop alternate side parking in Passaic.  Councilman Munk’s exact answer was: “when (then mayor) Sammy Rivera stops taking bribes from Raineri’s.”

So we ask the obvious question: Does Counciman Munk’s previous quote mean that the towing will stop when current Acting Mayor Gary Schaer “stops taking bribes from Raineri’s?”

Maybe this incident and this article will cause Acting Mayor Gary Schaer to stop the outrageous towings in Passaic. Dare we hope?

The letter from the PassaicJews moderator, as posted on PassaicJews.com:

Dear PassaicJews members,

Yesterday, my mother borrowed my van with the car seat to take my newborn baby to the doctor. She parked on Pennington Ave in front of a sign that said not to park when it’s snow covered. She is from out of town and didn’t realize she had to walk all the way to the other end of the block to look at a second sign, facing the other direction, which looked identical to the first sign, to realize that it said it was street cleaning day.

The visit took five minutes. Yet, when she came out, the car was gone. My new baby daughter was stranded without a car seat while her mother was busy trying to recover from surgery.

While I have the ability to post my urgent messages directly to hundreds of subscribers on PassaicJews and my baby was soon brought home by a very generous person with a car seat, what if someone doesn’t have these resources?

To make matters worse, when I finally was able to secure another car and go to city hall, I specifically asked a police officer if I could park on a street where the signage was unclear (covered in stickers). He told me, “Well, the sign says no parking, but we really don’t enforce it around here. You’re on your own.” Just in case, I found another parking spot… but as I drove around I saw cars of city employees parked:
– in front of fire hydrants
– in front of crosswalks
– in front of driveways
– in front of within 25 feet of corners

Pictures of all of this with license plates of offenders are online at: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/PassaicJews/files/Selective_Enforcement_in_Town/

If you have trouble with the link, go to PassaicJews.com and click on “Yahoo Message Group” and then “Files” and then “Selective_Enforcement_In_Town” and then each individual picture.

… and don’t try and get your car back too quickly. The city won’t have the tow report! Missing a document? Go figure out where your car was towed to, get the document, and come back again. Driving someone else’s car? Better have them come to Passaic!

The towing of first time offenders, selective enforcement, and corruption in Passaic must be put to an end.

– Michael J. Feigin, Esq.
Moderator, PassaicJews.com
Patent and Trademark Attorney, PatentLawNJ.com

Passaic Police Brutality Case Settled

By MEREDITH MANDELL, STAFF WRITER | 08/07/08 04:01 AM <!–| 155 hits –>

Man alleges city police officers beat him in 2006

PASSAIC — The City Council has approved settling a lawsuit involving a city resident who claims three Passaic police officers brutally beat him.

The terms of the settlement with Manuel Escalante, approved unanimously at Tuesday night’s council meeting, were not disclosed.

Escalante filed a civil-rights action against the city in U.S. District Court alleging city police officers violated his constitutional rights and that the Police Department improperly investigated citizen complaints of police misconduct and inadequately trained and supervised its officers.

Thomas Walters, of the law firm Bolan Jahnsen & Reardon, who represented the city, said the settlement does not mean that the officers are guilty.

“There is no admission of liability on the part of any defendants,” he said.

City Business Administrator Greg Hill said he could not comment on the specifics of Escalante’s case since the settlement was confidential.

Escalante alleged that two years ago he was inside a bar when three Passaic police officers — Enrique Torres, Joseph Crisostomo and James Lane — entered, supposedly looking for someone with a handgun. The officers then arrested him for aggravated assault and resisting arrest. Escalante said that one of them beat his head with a flashlight as he tried to defend himself. Escalante said he had open head wounds but the officers did not allow him to stay overnight in the hospital for observation.

Escalante also alleged that the police officers tried to cover up their excessive use of force by conspiring to falsify documents, procure false statements and plant evidence against him.

Police subdue man with two machetes and Police Officer in Passaic gets hit.

A police officer convinced a man waving two machetes to put both weapons down and surrender following a brief chase, authorities said today.

“These officers did an outstanding job — they showed a lot of restraint,”  said West Milford Police Chief Paul Costello.

Police received a call around 7:30 last night from a family member who said Erich Bujese, 43, of Otterhole Road, was threatening to harm himself and other family members.

Costello said his department alerted nearby towns and Bujese’s 1997 Ford Ranger pickup was spotted heading toward West Milford by Greenwood Lake, N.Y., police.

West Milford Officer Jill Brickman tried to pull Bujese over on Lakeside Road, but he kept driving toward Ringwood, police said.

Officers pursued Bujese until he pulled into a boat launch area for Monksville Reservoir and got out of the truck holding both machetes, each with an 18-inch blade.

“Officer Joseph Nevin was able to persuade Mr. Bujese to put down the machetes and hand over his driver’s license,” Costello said. “When he put down the machetes to get his license, he was subdued by the officers.”

Bujese was brought to St. Mary’s Hospital in Passaic for observation.

There, Costello reported, Bujese took a swing at and hit Officer Greg Post Jr., who didn’t require treatment.

Bujese is charged with aggravated assault on a police officer, driving under the influence, eluding police officers, menacing and threatening a police officer, resisting arrest, and a list of motor vehicle infractions. He is being held at the Passaic County Jail on $50,000 bail.

NJ Attorney General ticketed for speeding

TRENTON, N.J. – New Jersey‘s top law enforcement officer will soon have a blemish on her driving record.

Attorney General Anne Milgram was ticketed for speeding Friday.

Milgram was driving her 1994 Honda Accord on Route 1 South when she was clocked at 69 mph in a 50 mph zone. She was pulled over in North Brunswick.

Milgram said she plans to pay the $176 fine. She’ll also receive four points against her license. “I made a mistake and know what I did was wrong. I take responsibility for driving too fast,” she said in a statement issued by her office.

Milgram was the first assistant attorney general when former Attorney General Zulima Farber was forced from office after six months on the job amid a ticket scandal involving Farber’s boyfriend.

Farber, who resigned in August 2006, showed up at the scene after her longtime boyfriend was pulled over for failing to wear a seat belt and ticketed for having a suspended license and driving an improperly registered vehicle.

A special prosecutor found that Farber didn’t commit a crime by going to the scene, but she was found to have violated ethics provisions barring state officials from accepting favors because of their position. Farber resigned the day the report was issued.

Farber herself had 12 speeding tickets, four bench warrants issued for her after she failed to show up for court appearances and three license suspensions.

The Attorney General’s Office said this is Milgram’s first speeding ticket. Newsday.com

Police Car Crashes, Sgt. Curses at Hatzolah Volunteers Trying to Offer Aid; Delays Care

NYPD police car after the crash. Witnesses stated the car was speeding with lights on, but no sirens, and failed to slow at the intersection.

CROWN HEIGHTS, Brooklyn — A police cruiser slammed into a 15 passenger van at around 9:30 Sunday night. The incident took place in the intersection of Albany Avenue and Carroll Street where a 15 passenger van, driven by a Jewish man, heading down Carroll was broadsided by a police cruiser coming down Albany.

Multiple eye witnesses stated that they observed the police car driving with only its lights flashing and no sirens, and when approaching the intersection the police car did not slow down. Police officers on scene said the police car did not appear to be responding to an emergency.

The two vehicles collided and the van ended up on the sidewalk.

Hatzalah and the police arrived on scene within moments, but the lack of professionalism on the police’s behalf reared its ugly head on scene.

One Hatzalah member immediately walked up to the police car and began giving care to one of the officers and just as he began stabilizing Sgt. Walls of the 71st Precinct walked up to the member and told him to “take his @#$! and move away”, the member was taken aback and walked away.

Other Hatzalah members evaluated the driver and passenger from the van, both of whom did not require medical attention, B”H.

After the sergeant gave Hatzalah the boot some 7 Hatzolah members were seen standing on the side along with other curious onlookers instead of giving the care they are supposed to.

After 7 minutes the first EMS ambulance arrived on scene and 25 minutes later the second ambulance arrived on scene. Both officers were transported to Kings County Hospital for checkup and observation. (CrownHeights.info)

New York – Israeli IDF Vets Train NY Jewish Paramilitaries In Catskills

New York – Yonatan Stern, the “Sgan Mefaked Hakita” (deputy squad commander) of Kitat Konenut New York, insists his “paramilitary emergency armed response team” is no “group of vigilantes or a JDL “The goal of the organization is to have a competent and professional group of armed volunteers ready to respond to a threat at a moment’s notice in any area where Jews reside,” explains the Israeli combat veteran.“We do not carry out demonstrations or political activity of any kind as we have no political agenda. Our agenda is to protect Jews wherever and whenever necessary and by any means needed.”

On Friday, the third session of the group’s training camp will begin in the Catskills woodlands of upstate New York, on land belonging to a Jewish supporter of the organization. With tuition at $400, the group expects 15 participants and five instructors for the 10 days of training. Participation has doubled since the group began three years ago.

Kitat Konenut New York is modeled on the rapid response teams in the West Bank settlements that are often the first to act when terrorist attacks or other emergencies take place. The group bills itself as religious-Zionist but nonpolitical.

American Jews have “felt a false sense of security in the United States,” Stern believes, “because historically there has been less anti-Semitism than in other countries. But there have been incidents – neo-Nazi terrorist attacks, Arab terrorist attacks. Jews have to be vigilant.”

“The threat is not from the American people or government,” he adds, but from “terrorist sleeper cells that want to target Jews. These people are very dangerous and the FBI issues warnings against them very often,” he said, citing the FBI’s warning, after the killing of Hizbullah operations chief Imad Mughniyeh in Damascus in February, that the Lebanese group might carry out terror attacks on Jewish communities.

“The average American is friendly to Jews, but we’re worried about those individuals on the periphery of society,” Stern says.

 

The group was founded in the summer of 2006 in response to the shooting attack at the Jewish federation of Seattle premises by local Muslim Naveed Haq.

 

“We realized there is a need for this kind of organization, and as Israeli combat veterans living in the US, we have the skills and ability to respond to this,” Stern says.

The group’s MySpace page details the camp’s regimen, which includes training in the IDF’s Krav Maga martial art, use of non-lethal weapons and identification of suspicious objects, but also sharpshooter and assault rifle training, infantry exercises and endurance marches. Explanatory literature lists a large number of weapons with which participants can expect to train.

“We believe all Jews in the US must be legally armed and trained,” Stern says, “and towards this goal we hold paramilitary training camps to train and equip Jewish American youth.”

The group’s literature notes emphatically that all firearms used in training “are 100% legal and in compliance with all federal, state and local laws.”

“We strongly believe in the constitutional right to bear arms and we express this right to its fullest,” it adds.

The group claims to be “well-connected with the New York police and fire departments” and it invites “all members of the law enforcement community to join in our life-saving activities.”

Stern says, “We are all legally armed and carry radios and cellphones” during all hours of the day, and even on Shabbat, “as we need to be constantly ready to respond to any incident.”

The camp literature also promises discussions on Torah and Halacha, understanding and confronting terrorism, fighting anti-Semitism, the history of the Zionist movement in the Land of Israel, and encouraging participants to “know your rights and learn how every American can and must be legally armed and how to express the Second Amendment” – the right to bear arms.

 Funded by tuition money and a handful of private donors, the group does not exclude secular Jews, Stern says, but asks that they respect the Orthodox nature of the camp by observing Shabbat in public and refraining from bringing non-kosher food.

“We wouldn’t have a problem with non-Jews coming either,” says Stern, “but no non-Jew has applied thus far. Vinnews.com

Vehicle rear-ends jitney bus, injuring 7

PASSAIC – Seven people were taken to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, after a car rear-ended a jitney bus on Friday, police said.

At 3:16 p.m., Jorge Lesmes Jr., 23, of Bloomfield was driving a two-door Acura on River Drive at Elliot Street, when he hit a jitney carrying 16 people plus the driver, said police Detective Andy White.

Lesmes was taken to St. Joseph’s Regional Medical Center in Paterson with facial injuries. The jitney driver, Gil Abreu, 51, of New York, was taken to St. Mary’s Hospital, along with five of his passengers.

The jitney bus had been headed to Union City, then New York, White said.

According to jitney passenger Priyank Rana of Passaic, the jitney was parked at a bus stop on River Drive when the accident occurred. Rana’s friend, Badal Rana, was among those injured. Northjersey.com

Passaic Police Ticket Cars Out Side Shul

The Passaic Police Dept. this morning was out this morning at approximately 8am ticketing cars outside of the Ahavas Israel. In recent days the Passaic Police Dept. has been giving out a lot of ticket’s in the Passaic Park area. It might have something to do with our “Mayor”. All residents should be aware you may not park with in 50 feet of a stop sign or with in 25 feet of any corner or cross walk. Please be advised it does not matter if it is marked or not. Also all ways remember to wear your seat belts. PCJN

Passaic woman charged after leaving tot in SUV

A 33-year-old Passaic woman was charged with endangering the welfare of a child yesterday after she accidentally left a toddler inside her SUV for about three hours in Clifton, police said.

The 2-year-old boy, also of Passaic, was not breathing and had al most no pulse when she finally no ticed him and got help, but the toddler was expected to fully recover, Clifton Detective Sgt. Robert Bracken said last night.

Meira Lebovitz spent part of the day carpooling six children, including several of her own. Later, after dropping off five of the children, she stopped at the Home Depot in Clifton at about 2 p.m., not realizing the 2-year-old was still asleep in the back, the detective said.

While in the store parking lot on Bloomfield Avenue, Lebovitz suddenly noticed she had forgotten to drop off one child, who had fallen asleep in the rear of her Chevrolet Suburban sport utility vehicle, Bracken said. Lebovitz, a friend of the boy’s family, rushed the child into the store, the detective said.

The child was dehydrated, had a temperature of 102.6 degrees Fahrenheit, was not breathing and did not have a noticeable pulse, Bracken said. The boy ap peared to have advanced heat stroke, he said.

Two customers in the store began cardiopulmonary resuscitation on the child as they waited for emergency rescue crews, according to the detective. Nj.com