New Jersey – Colonel Rick Fuentes, Superintendent of the New Jersey State Police, admitted to speeding on the Garden State Parkway and is getting a speeding ticket.
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A spokesman for the department told NBCNewYork that one of Fuentes’ troopers stopped the Superintendent’s unmarked police car after clocking it at 75 miles per hour in a 65 mph zone, where the road runs through Paramus.
At the time, the trooper decided not to give his boss a ticket.
“A trooper has the ability to use discretion,” explained Captain Gerald Lewis, spokesman for the department.
He added, “30 percent of [trooper] stops end with no action,” in explaining how wide that latitude can be.
“The Colonel took the discretion out of the Trooper’s hands,” said Lewis in explaining that within hours after the stop, Fuentes “self-reported it to the Office of Professional Standards.”
The OPS then decided to issue Fuentes a ticket, according to Lewis.
He was also issued a written reprimand, which Lewis explained happens to any trooper who gets a traffic ticket.
“He [the Trooper] was doing his job and doing his job effectively,” said Lewis, who added “I think the colonel should be commended for accepting responsibility for his actions.”
Lewis also said “The colonel was pleased with the trooper’s performance.”
Fuentes was first appointed Superintendent back in 2003 by then-Governor James McGreevey, a Democrat.
Earlier this year, he was reappointed to the post by Governor Chris Christie, a Republican.
it was all a set in order to prove to the world that a police officer is not above the law. but behind closed doors we allbknowvwhat goes on
NJ under the leadership of Chris Christie, is making more sense everyday.
I’m so happy he got a ticket. I hope his insurance goes up. NEw Jerseyans know, the State Troopers are ruthless. They even LOOK scary. They often give local cops tickets. I hope this slows them down,but it won’t.
Why doesn’t this happen in NYC where police pass red lights just because they don’t want to wait and park wherever they want to. Hey Mike, read this.
He will probably plead guilty to parking illegally which is about what most people with no record end up with.
Most people go 75 or 80 in a 65 mph zone. if you go only 65, you are more noticeable because everyone is passing you.
all a show. One thing i gotta give cops credit for: they watch out for their own. just the opposite with attorneys. I got a ticket once and tried to get some mercy from the judge telling him i am an attorney; he said “so what”
i shoulda been a cop
the story is true but I’m sure that the speed is not because he wouldn’t stop him on 75 in a 65 zone and if yes thei usely don’t pull off so he wouldn’t giv him a ticket
It just doesn’t make sense that he was about to give him a summons for 75 a state trooper told me once that till 10 above the limit they don’t bother!
Theory 1- Chief was afraid it would be leaked to the press and the piranha tabloids would have a field day with it, so he decided to turn his sour lemon juice into lemonade (PR stunt).
Theory 2- Chief is a tried and true LEO and decided to use his error in judgment as a lesson for other speeders instead of taking advantage of the courtesy given to him by the trooper who stopped him.
I choose theory 2.
This guy looks like a serious person not some egomaniac pimple faced 30 y/o straight out of the academy trooper who sometimes enjoy playing cops with helpless little citizens they stop.
What about the New Jersey state trooper who was driving at over 90 miles per hour with Gov. Corzine in the car, and was involved in a horrible crash, which almost took the life of Gov. Corzine? Why wasn’t that state trooper punished for speeding, and driving recklessly?
8 & 9 – he was probably doing 95.
Well one trooper told me that they tolirate up to 72 in a 65 mph zone
It depends on the flow of traffic. If everyone is doing 75, the speed limit is 75. Anyone doing less and causing cars to constantly change speed and lanes is a threat to traffic and should be ticketed.
This whole story doesn’t make sense. There is no way that the trooper who stopped his car didn’t know it was a NJ State Police vehicle. I tend to agree in part with another poster who suggested that this is nothing more than a big PR stunt. I travel the roads of NJ oftten and never had an issue with any police agency…simple reason why…I don’t speed!!
#11 Says:….you raise an interesting question with regard to the Corzine accident episode. My guess is that he was just following orders from Gov. Corzine to get to wherever they were going quickly and that Corzine made the issue of his speeding just go away.
There are morons mostly in SUV’s that go about 95 tailgating, I have yet to see one of them get a ticket.
#17 they can’t be tailgating at 95 mph for very long unless the vehicle in front is going just as fast. I too would like to see more enforcement of tailgating…the only problem is that when a marked police car is spotted all of a sudden everyone behaves.