Cover-up? Officer charged with leading other cops on high-speed chase

An off-duty Saddle Brook police officer led police on a high-speed chase after he refused to stop for a Ridgefield cop trying to pull him over, authorities said Thursday.

An officer tried to pull over Andreas Morales's BMW at 2:35 a.m., Oct. 3, for speeding on Broad Street. Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Musella.said Morales sped off toward Routes 46 and 80 before the chase was broken off for safety reasons.

Morales was charged on Wednesday with eluding and suspended from duty, prompting questions of whether police officials may have covered up a crime.

An investigation into the incident began on Oct. 8. In an article shared by Saddle Brook police on its Facebook page, Chief Robert Kugler told the Daily Voice that he notified the prosecutor's office when he was made aware of the incident five days later.

Citing unnamed sources, the Daily Voice reported that Morales was stopped by a Bogota officer on Market Street in Saddle Brook but eventually released.

Several other officers whose identities were not revealed by the prosecutor have also been suspended. The chief told NJ.com that Lt. Victor Van Dyk, and Officer Adam Georgaros were the ones suspended to “ensure integrity of our police department and effective police services for our community.”

Kugler told the Daily Voice he was "extremely disappointed" that Morales would endanger the lives of others and more disappointed that officers knew about the incident and did not report it.

Kugler on Friday morning did not respond to New Jersey 101.5's request for more information.

Elsewhere in the state, Brick police Officer Daniel Testa was charged in August with drunken driving and child neglect after township police pulled him over for speeding. Three children were in the car. The arrest was kept quiet until details of the care were reported this week by NJ.com.
Contact reporter Dan Alexander at Dan.Alexander@townsquaremedia.com or via Twitter @DanAlexanderNJ