No 'Empathy’ During Bloomfield Traffic Stop, Disabled Vet Claims

BLOOMFIELD, NJ — A disabled military veteran and former ironworker from Bloomfield is claiming that his car was towed and impounded during a traffic stop in the township last month, and that police should have showed him more "empathy" during the encounter. But according to Bloomfield Public Safety Director Samuel DeMaio, who reviewed video of the incident, the officers were respectful, courteous and even apologetic.

Brian Robison recently reached out to Patch with an email about his experience with Bloomfield police officers on June 26. Read Robison’s letter and DeMaio's response to the allegations below. Don’t forget to visit the Patch Bloomfield Facebook page here.

BRIAN ROBISON: 'I MADE AN HONEST MISTAKE'

“I am a disabled veteran, and I happen to work for the Veterans Administration. I took a job with the VA in Fayetteville, North Carolina in December of last year. I was (still am technically) an Ironworker out of Local #11 in Bloomfield. I was up in New Jersey for my daughter's graduation from Middletown High School North, and had to travel to Bloomfield to conduct some union business on June 26.

“When I left the union hall, at 1500 Broad Street in Bloomfield, I decided to go through town and get on the Garden State Parkway by interchange 148 instead of 151, in order to save money on the tolls. Little did I know things were not going to work out to my benefit financially. Just a couple minutes before I was to enter the parkway, I was pulled over by a Bloomfield police SUV, and informed that my registration was overdue by four months. My insurance was paid up. It was a simple oversight on my part due to the fact that I hadn't seen my mailing because I'd been down in North Carolina, and my inspection month is in December, while my registration month is in February.

“I've seen this happen often with other people. They are simply given a ticket, and a warning to get their registration taken care of before the court date so the charge will be dropped on the court date. I've seen it done with registrations over a year overdue. Well, not this time. Not for this service connected disabled veteran.

“My car was towed and impounded. I was given what was called a ‘courtesy’ ride to the East Orange Motor Vehicles, only to find out that I didn't have the identification necessary to take care of what I needed to take care of. A friend of mine had to bring my safe all the way up from Red Bank so I could get the necessary documents to complete the paperwork and travel a very far distance back to Bloomfield to get a release form from the police department. After that, I had to find the tow yard and pay them $161.50 to get my car, which I had to borrow from my friend because I had just spent my money on union business, my daughter's graduation, travel, and needed money for returning to North Carolina.

“I explained all of this to the police. They showed no concern or empathy whatsoever. They were perfectly willing to leave a distraught, disoriented, and confused disabled veteran abandoned on the streets of East Orange. I can guarantee that, if my health record with the VA were opened up in court, it would be proof of me becoming easily disoriented. And with a situation such as I described, I'm just very blessed to have a friend who was willing to go out of their way to do what she did for me that day.

"There used to be a day when police actually cared about people. Then they wonder why the public turns on them. Completely heartless, hitting a man just because he's vulnerable, and just made an honest mistake. Bloomfield used to be a nice town. My mom lived there for many years. I guess I'm glad she's in Monmouth County now. It's very sad when a town has to resort to extorting money out of honest people. I very much enjoyed working on the colleges up that way, and shopping in the area, and going to the shows, and art events. I won't be taking the chance if I have to worry about an accidental infringement or something of the sort. This is what happens. Eventually, all of the business is chased off.”

BLOOMFIELD POLICE: RESPECTFUL, COURTEOUS, APOLOGETIC

On Thursday, Bloomfield Public Safety Director Samuel DeMaio provided Patch with the following statement about Robison’s allegations:

“We watched the video of the motor vehicle stop. The officers were respectful, courteous and even apologetic to the driver. Unfortunately, his registration was not expired by a few days or even weeks, it was expired for five months. The officers acted properly, did their job and did it in a way that showed compassion and empathy for the driver by driving him to a MV office out of town. I understand that the driver is a disabled vet and have tremendous respect for his service along with the other thousands of veterans that serve us and our country. However, that doesn’t make him or anyone else exempt from the law. My officers acted professionally, with compassion and empathy, but we cannot get around the clear fact that the driver was wrong and his registration was expired by five months.”

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