Bergen Brothers Beat Up Cop During Traffic Stop: Police

BERGEN COUNTY, NJ — Two brothers were charged with assaulting a police officer during a traffic stop early Saturday morning, police said.

Officer Adam Fingeroth saw a vehicle double parked on Howard Drive in Bergenfield at 12:28 a.m. and saw several men nearby, said Bergenfield Police Capt. Mustafa Rabboh.

One man tried moving the vehicle and Fingeroth asked for the man's driver's license, but he refused to provide it, Rabboh said.

Driver Junior Jimenez-Mariano, 21, of Bergenfield, exited the vehicle and a physical altercation occurred between him and Fingeroth on the ground; then his brother, Daniel Jimenez-Villanueva, 20, of Bergenfield, also attacked the officer and Fingeroth struggled with both men on the ground, Rabboh said.

Daniel Jimenez-Villanueva fled the scene while his brother was handcuffed; police searched and found him standing in the crowd that had gathered, the captain said. He changed his clothes and returned to the scene to avoid being discovered, he said.

Both men were charged with aggravated assault on a police officer and resisting arrest.

Junior Jimenez-Mariano was also charged with obstructing a governmental function and transported to the Bergen County Jail; his brother was also charged with hindering apprehension and issued a complaint summons and released, Rabboh said.

The state's new bail reform system enabled Daniel Jimenez-Villanueva to be released while Fingeroth sustained bruises to his face and upper body, police said. The officer was taken to Holy Name Medical Center and later released.

"This is troubling and deeply disturbing. The system is flawed when an officer lands in the hospital and the actor is released the same day," Rabboh said. "This is an issue that does not sit well with any law enforcement member."

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Photos: Junior Jimenez-Mariano, left, and Daniel Jimenez-Villanueva. — Courtesy of Bergenfield Police Department