Conviction Won’t Cost Paterson Councilwoman Her Post

Passaic County prosecutors have lost their bid to have a Paterson city councilwoman removed from office because she confronted a police officer after he stopped another motorist in the northern New Jersey community.

A municipal court judge had found Vera Ames-Garnes guilty in December 2010 on charges of obstruction of justice and disorderly conduct after the November 2007 dispute.

The judge said her conduct "touched upon her office" but was not enough to warrant her removal. Prosecutors filed an appeal to overturn that finding, but a state judge upheld the ruling and her conviction on Wednesday.

Ames-Garnes confronted Prospect Park Officer Brian Koppenal, who had stopped a motorist in Paterson for a broken tail light.

Ames-Garnes said she was responding to what she felt was "geographic profiling" of Paterson motorists.