Crime & Safety

WATCH: North Jersey Cop 'Highly Intoxicated' In Mercer County Traffic Stop, But Not Charged

WARNING: The video contains language that could be considered offensive. Viewer discretion advised.

A North Jersey police sergeant was accused of driving while “highly intoxicated” in Mercer County in January 2014 - and his behavior was caught on video [see below].

Even after words were used to describe him as too “f----- up” to drive, he was released without charges into the custody of Jersey City police, and he remains on the job, according to nj.com and news12.com.

The incident was documented in a video and police reports. The video, taken from the dashboard of a Robbinsville police officer, shows one officer telling Sgt. Vincent Corso, the Jersey City cop, that he is too “f------ up” to drive, according to the reports.

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The release of the video comes after Robert Cowan, a former Jersey City police chief, cited the incident in a civil lawsuit he filed against the city, Mayor Steve Fulop and Public Safety Director James Shea, according to the reports.

Cowan alleges in his lawsuit that he ordered an investigation into Corso’s traffic stop over the objections of Fulop and Shea. The ex-police chief says Fulop tried to conceal the incident involving Corso, a local union official, because he wanted to curry favor with the union in advance of a gubernatorial run in 2017, according to the reports.

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The traffic stop took place on Jan. 30, 2014 at 7:32 p.m. in Robbinsville when Police Officer Shawn Bruton pulled Corso over on Route 130, telling Corso he was speeding and had one headlight out, according to the reports.

According to the video, Corso told Bruton he was “on the job” even after Bruton gave him warnings about his behavior.

“Are we OK here?” Corso asks at one point.

“Yeah, just sit in your car,” Bruton says.

“Do we have a problem?” Corso later asks Officer Barbara Borges, who also appears on the scene, according to nj.com.

“Yeah, we do have a problem,” she said. “You’re intoxicated and you’re driving a motor vehicle.”

Borges said Corso was “highly intoxicated’’ in her written police report, and told him he can’t drive. Corso said he’d walk to his home in Lincroft in Monmouth County, about 45 minutes away, according to the video.

“You are so f------ up right now, you can’t even speak right,” the officer told him.

“You cannot drive this vehicle from this point, period,” the officer also told him. “You ain’t driving. You get behind that wheel again, I’ll lock you up.”

Read more about the incident at nj.com.

Photo: Corso walking out of his car after stopped; dashboard video published by nj.com.


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