Washington Township Police released a special media police report about the DUI arrest of Assemblyman Paul Moriarty on Tuesday afternoon.

Assemblyman Paul Moriarty
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Moriarty was arrested at 3:53PM on Tuesday afternoon according to a statement from Captain Richard Leonard in PolitickerNJ.com at 5651 Black Horse Pike in Turnersville and was alone in his car.

"He was transported to the Washington Township Police Department and processed," the captain added.

 

 

Moriarty was charged with failure to maintain his lane, refusing the breath test and DUI. He was released and has a hearing scheduled for Wednesday, August 8.

Leonard refused a request by the Star Ledger to produce the actual police report. "If you want the police report, file a request, and we’ll review it and determine whether it’s a public record,” Leonard told the newspaper.

Washington Township Police Chief Rafael Muniz, according to the report, is aware of Moriarty's allegations of "abuse of power" which will be investigated by the New Jersey General Guidelines.

“I intend to vigorously fight this"

Moriarty emailed a denial to the media on Tuesday night and explained that he was on his way to lunch from a car dealership when he was stopped by an unidentified  Washington Township officer who claimed Moriarty "cut him off at an intersection."

Moriarty said he had not had any alcoholic beverages prior to being stopped.

"I disputed his assertion which led him to order me from my car, submit me to a field sobriety test and issue a summons for DUI," said Moriarty in his statement.

Moriarty tells the Times he  refused to take a breathalyzer test because “I felt like there was something fishy about the whole process,” Moriarty said. “I felt like I was being harassed and singled out.”

He says once he got to the police station he was refused access to his lawyer and he stopped answering questions. Moriarty says he was then issued 3 summons and then left.

Moriarty's lawyer advised him later he should have taken the test but the Assemblyman remains skeptical.

“I didn’t know,” Moriarty said. “I didn’t trust the process because of what had already gone on. I was afraid. I don’t know who calibrated the machines. I didn’t trust what was happening to me, and I said I’d wait to talk to an attorney.”

Moriarty vowed to fight the charges, and possibly file charges with the Washington Township Police Department’s Internal Affairs. He said he can prove where he was and what he was doing in the moments leading up to his arrest.

“I intend to vigorously fight this,” Moriarty said.

He further claims that the arresting officer "was previously fired from the Washington Township Police Department for allegedly being untruthful in an Internal Affairs Investigation.  A court subsequently ordered his reinstatement."

 

 

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