Already in a legal battle with her police chief, Hillside Mayor Angela Garretson now faces summonses for charging her with disregarding an officer's hand signals, obstructing passage of vehicles, improper passing, talking on a cellphone and driving through a safety zone.
Hillside Mayor Angela Garretson received five summons from a township police officer. (NJ Advance Media file photo)HILLSIDE -- It's no secret that Hillside Mayor Angela Garretson has had a less-than-perfect relationship with the Hillside Police Department: the city is in a legal battle over her demotion of the current police chief.
In a new twist, NJ Advance Media reported Garretson is facing five summonses issued by the city's PBA president on one morning in July, charging her with disregarding an officer's hand signals, obstructing passage of vehicles, improper passing, talking on a cellphone and driving through a safety zone.
The violations occurred while Garretson was driving her 2016 Mercedes SUV in the same area where the PBA president, Matthew Casterline, was working an overtime job at a construction work site, according to the summonses.
The story received more than 600 comments from NJ.com readers in less than 24 hours, with lots of debate about whether the tickets were a form of retaliation or whether the mayor rightfully deserves the summonses.
Here is what some readers had to say, edited at times for length or clarity:
devilfan2k: Don't do the crime if you can't pay the fine!!!!! lol!!! pay up mrs. mayor....logicguy88: As a former municipal court defender, I can say it isn't wise to play politics with the PD and then commit 5 moving violations right in front of an officer.... an engraved invitation to a summons? Lets see what the Judge says in the end, because she/he will have final say about the Mayor's driving and the Officer's writing
JustSayinIMHO: Maybe it walks like a duck... At first blush it does seem retaliatory, but it does describe what sounds like she actually blew through a construction site, probably while the flagman had the stop sign raised, oblivious to what was going on except the phone conversation she was having and trying to get where she wanted to go as quickly as possible. Guy was just doing his job. A serendipitous coincidence, don't you think?
Onehundrednames: She should be on her best behavior. Officers often turn their heads and let people slide, but they don't have to.
CensoredTruth: These tickets should all be tossed as they are absolutely politically motivated. The cop should be demoted.
crownvic2: I don't care who she is. If she was on the cell phone she most likely did everything else and was completely oblivious to everyone around her. Write her.
Barnegat: A obvious attempt at payback by Casterline, the police union head. No doubt Garretson has made some poor moves as mayor, but the police response reminds me of the actions of some of the older police in Edison. Voters will take out Garretson if they wish.
verytired52: What kind of Mercedes 2016 doesn't have bluetooth?
And here's what some folks had to say on NJ.com's Facebook page:
Jessica Remo may be reached at jremo@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @JessicaRemoNJ. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
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