Linden Cop's Sobriety Tests After DUI Crash Captured On Body Cam

ELIZABETH, NJ — Body camera footage, obtained by nj.com, shows Linden Police Officer Angel Padilla taking a sobriety test on the streets of Linden following a crash.

Padilla has been praised as being a hero and honored for helping to catch the alleged terrorist Ahmad Khan Rahimi.

A 17-year veteran of the force, Padilla was driving a 2011 Jeep eastbound on W. St. George Avenue in Linden when he crashed into a 2013 Cadillac traveling in the same direction near N. Stiles Street on Aug. 26 just before 5 p.m., Linden Police report.

• See Related: Hero Linden Cop Charged In Drunk Driving Crash

In the video, the driver of the Cadillac, a 54-year-old woman claims Padilla not only hit her car but after she got out of the car, he also hit her with his Jeep.

"I got out and went and he was like 'you know we can work it out... I'm willing to pay'... he start telling me about his story," the woman says in the video. "I'm like, 'My car! Look!' He's telling me to go to AutoZone and you know, we'll, um, he'll pay for it."

The woman then goes on to explain that she told Padilla "No." And went to the back of her car to talk to her son when Padilla's car allegedly "started rolling" and hit her between the two cars.

Video below shows the investigation into the accident below:

The woman was evaluated for minor injuries and released on scene. Padilla was not injured, police report.

During the investigation, two officers have to tell Padilla repeatedly to put his car in park and not roll it. One officer asks the other if Padilla is drunk and then says if they suspect something to conduct the sobriety test.

Padilla says in the video that he hasn't drank in four years but admits to taking prescription medication an hour before the crash.

"Really a sobriety test for this? Ohhh my goodness," Padilla says on the video.

Padilla can be heard during the sobriety test saying, "I don't drink. I've been on sobriety for five years."

During the test, Padilla miscounts the number of steps needed and an officer is heard saying "I think he may be under the influence of a medication." The officer them says he will conduct an HGN test - Horizontal Gaze Nystagmus.

Padilla's eyes were confirmed to be bouncing during the test. The sobriety test is then conducted again where Padilla can be seen making mis-steps.

Video below shows the sobriety tests:

Padilla was charged and arrested for driving while intoxicated and released pending a court appearance.

(Screenshot and video via nj.com: Body cam footage of Linden Police Officer Angel Padilla.)

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