New Details, Identity Of Stolen Car Driver Released In Westfield Police Chase

WESTFIELD, NJ — Three Westfield Police Officers were injured during a chase with a stolen vehicle in town on Thursday night.

At 5:10 p.m., Westfield Police were alerted to the presence of a vehicle displaying a stolen license plate entering Westfield on Central Avenue by a License Plate Reader(LPR) camera, said Westfield Police Chief Christopher Battiloro.

The vehicle hit a second time on another LPR camera at 5:12 p.m.

Officer Donald Picciano went to the area and found the vehicle in question, a 2017 Nissan Altima displaying a Pennsylvania registration, near the intersection of Central Avenue and West Grove Street.

Picciano activated his emergency lights and siren and tried to stop the car, but its driver refused to stop, and a pursuit ensued west on West Grove Street and then south on Boulevard, said Battiloro.

The vehicle being chased made its way through several southside neighborhoods, including across
the front lawn of a home located on Frazee Court, and eventually to the northside and into
Garwood via North Avenue, said Battiloro.

The vehicle being pursued entered the parking lot of a gas station located at North Avenue and
Center Street in Garwood and then went to the back of the building which had no outlet.

The pursuing officers followed it to the back of the building, where a collision with the vehicle and two other responding police vehicles occurred behind the building, said Battiloro.

The driver and sole occupant of the vehicle, subsequently identified as Jason M. Burkett, 44, of
Cockeysville, MD, did not comply with officers’ commands and was forcibly removed from the
within vehicle and placed under arrest.

Sergeant Gill, Officers Saunders, and Plainclothes Officer Ryan Weiss all sustained lacerations from broken glass while effecting the arrest of Burkett.

All three officers were initially treated by the Westfield Rescue Squad and Garwood First Aid Squad, and taken via ambulance to Overlook Medical Center in Summit for further treatment of their injuries. One required ten stitches to close the wound on his arm.

The vehicle being operated by Burkett was identified as stolen from Philadelphia, PA. He has been charged with the following:

• Resisting Arrest, a crime of the second degree.
• Aggravated Assault on a Law Enforcement Officer, a crime of the second degree.
• Obstructing Administration of the Law, a crime of the fourth degree.
• Receiving Stolen Property, a crime of the third degree
• Receiving Stolen Property, a Disorderly Persons Offense
• Criminal Mischief, a Disorderly Persons offense.

"Vehicle pursuits are undoubtedly dangerous, but they have become necessary to effectively combat crimes involving stolen vehicles," said Chief Battiloro. "Our police officers will continue to aggressively fight crime, but they will do so in the safest way possible and always with the utmost professionalism."

Following processing at the Westfield Police Department, Burkett was taken committed to the Essex County Correctional Facility pending further court proceedings.

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