NY State Assemblyman Dov Hikind (D-Brooklyn) praised the chief of the Palisades Interstate Parkway Police Department following findings that exonerated a Boro Park resident and caused a highway patrolman to be disciplined. Three months ago, Hikind asked Bergen County Prosecutor Dennis Calo to review a case after Hikind received a complaint of a highly irregular ticketing situation.
“Countless New Yorkers commute back and forth from New York to New Jersey, and more than once I have heard of bogus tickets being issued on the Palisades Parkway,” said Assemblyman Hikind. “One particular injustice occurred when my constituent was issued tickets that he should not have received and was forced to accept a guilty verdict to save time and money.”
The Brooklyn resident was driving his brother’s large passenger vehicle when he was pulled over by a Palisades Interstate patrolman for driving a commercial vehicle on the Palisades. The driver presented his brother’s vehicle registration which made it clear that the vehicle was not a commercial vehicle at all. Nevertheless, a ticket was issued for the offense, along with three other tickets. These tickets were not issued to the driver: They were issued to his brother, who was not present.
When the vehicle’s owner took off from work to appear in court and enter a not guilty plea, he was told by the prosecutor that the patrolman who had written the tickets had not shown up and that he would have to appear a second time (and thus lose a second day’s pay). Consequently, he was compelled to plead guilty.
“It seemed clear that this was just a matter of extorting a cornered motorist into paying a fine for a crime he was not guilty of,” Hikind said at the time. The Assemblyman called for an investigation.
Following the close of the investigation, Hikind received a letter from Michael Coppola, Chief of Police, Palisades Interstate Parkway Police, noting that one of the four issued tickets was indeed valid but apologizing for the inappropriate actions of his officer.
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3 Responses
About 2 years ago a Hatzoloh ambulance got a ticket there for riding with his blaring siren.
How are they okay with the fact that 75% of the tickets given were inappropriate? Most people don’t have a politician vouching for them. This is outrageous.
Its not only on the palisades that this is going on. The city or town needs the money the cops have quotas to meet so when they catch someone they try to give as many tickets as possible. My son got a ticket for speeding on tbe palisades last week at 3am but the cop also gave him for tailgating. My son says there wasnt a car within 10 miles. Its all about money.