Teen testifies Freehold cop punched him, pinned mo

[BrianSullivan]

www.app.com/article/20100217/NEWS05/2170339/1285/LOCAL09/Teen-testifies-Freehold-cop-punched-him-pinned-mom-against-car

FREEHOLD — "Stop disrespecting my mom! Stop disrespecting my mom!"




Those were the words that a 15-year-old boy yelled at borough police officer Chris Colaner when the officer allegedly had his mother pinned against their car during a motor vehicle stop, according to the boy's testimony Tuesday in a criminal case against him and his mother, Freehold Township resident Migdalia Irizarry.

The youth testified that Colaner then opened the car door and punched him in the face before throwing him on the ground.

Both Irizarry and her son are charged with obstructing justice and resisting arrest during a motor vehicle stop the night of Jan. 29, 2008. Following the youth's testimony and that of borough police Officer Zandra Vega and Police Chief Mitchell Roth on Tuesday, Superior Court Judge Eugene A. Iadanza said he expected to announce a judgment Feb. 25.

Irizarry is accused of blocking Colaner from trying to arrest her son while he yelled at the officer. The youth also is charged with aggravated assault on a police officer after allegedly kicking Colaner when the officer entered the vehicle.

The youth testified that he watched as Colaner pulled his mother's car over, ordered her out of the car without explaining why he pulled her over and then grabbed her arm, twisted it behind her back and pinned her against the car. He said he could not hear any conversation between the two because the windows were closed.

When the boy rolled down the window to yell at the officer, he explained that no more than 20 seconds passed before he was thrown on the ground and told he was going to jail. He testified that he never struck Colaner.

In other testimony Tuesday, Vega said that on the night before the incident, she heard Colaner curse at and threaten Irizarry with arrest when trying to control a crowd at a youth basketball game.

Roth testified that he met with Irizarry the morning of Jan. 29, 2008, when she came into the station to file a complaint about Colaner's language and behavior the prior night. Roth said he did not inform Colaner of the complaint before the motor vehicle stop later that night. Eventually, Roth gave written disciplinary charges to Colaner, including reprimands for acting discourteously to the public.
(2 of 2)


In his summation, Irizarry's attorney dismissed the charges against his clients as false, alleging that Colaner held a grudge against the two for the previous night's events and acted with unnecessary force toward them.



The prosecution, in its summation before the judge, argued that testimony from previous witnesses proved that Irizarry's son did try to open the car door himself and kick Colaner when the officer tried to arrest him. It also claimed that testimony from other arresting officers proved that Irizarry was pulling her arms away and resisting arrest, and that both parties were guilty of the crimes for which they were charged.

The incident has previously been the source of a Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office investigation and police investigation into accusations of police misconduct by Colaner. Both investigations were closed because a lack of evidence. In both cases, Irizarry was advised by her attorney not to give statements, Irizarry has said. She and her son since have filed a civil suit against the borough.
Colleen Curry: 732-308-7758; [e-mail]

[lisas84]

This part is very unclear: "...Colaner curse at and threaten Irizarry with arrest when trying to control a crowd at a youth basketball game."

Did the officer just randomly act vicious -- or perhaps Irrizarry acted unruly to earn the officer's loss of patience with her? Perhaps her initial bad behavior is what escalated all this?
I highly doubt a police officer would randomly curse and threaten a person who is behaving well.

[Mike Rosseel]

Im going to give you all my honest opinion. I think this whole story "stinks". Seems to me to be a classic story of people doing wrong and when the cops enforce it, there the bad guys. I don't know this policeman but I will say theres more to this story then what is in print. In all my years in town, our police have done nothing but good! I think this mother and son maybe a case of sour grapes because the officer did his job, I wouldnt want to be a police officer today, they barely can do there jobs without people suing them for something. And her lawyer told her not to cooperate, maybe because her lawyers sees dollar sign in the end! Colaner received an award for helping people with the PBA Christmas programs, doesnt sound like he is a bad guy. In the end, I think the most important thing is support our police, they do an amazing job and have to deal with bs like this!

[richardkelsey]

Feb 18, 2010 9:11:53 GMT -5 BrianSullivan said:

www.app.com/article/20100217/NEWS05/2170339/1285/LOCAL09/Teen-testifies-Freehold-cop-punched-him-pinned-mom-against-car

FREEHOLD — "Stop disrespecting my mom! Stop disrespecting my mom!"




Those were the words that a 15-year-old boy yelled at borough police officer Chris Colaner when the officer allegedly had his mother pinned against their car during a motor vehicle stop, according to the boy's testimony Tuesday in a criminal case against him and his mother, Freehold Township resident Migdalia Irizarry.

The youth testified that Colaner then opened the car door and punched him in the face before throwing him on the ground.

Both Irizarry and her son are charged with obstructing justice and resisting arrest during a motor vehicle stop the night of Jan. 29, 2008. Following the youth's testimony and that of borough police Officer Zandra Vega and Police Chief Mitchell Roth on Tuesday, Superior Court Judge Eugene A. Iadanza said he expected to announce a judgment Feb. 25.

Irizarry is accused of blocking Colaner from trying to arrest her son while he yelled at the officer. The youth also is charged with aggravated assault on a police officer after allegedly kicking Colaner when the officer entered the vehicle.

The youth testified that he watched as Colaner pulled his mother's car over, ordered her out of the car without explaining why he pulled her over and then grabbed her arm, twisted it behind her back and pinned her against the car. He said he could not hear any conversation between the two because the windows were closed.

When the boy rolled down the window to yell at the officer, he explained that no more than 20 seconds passed before he was thrown on the ground and told he was going to jail. He testified that he never struck Colaner.

In other testimony Tuesday, Vega said that on the night before the incident, she heard Colaner curse at and threaten Irizarry with arrest when trying to control a crowd at a youth basketball game.

Roth testified that he met with Irizarry the morning of Jan. 29, 2008, when she came into the station to file a complaint about Colaner's language and behavior the prior night. Roth said he did not inform Colaner of the complaint before the motor vehicle stop later that night. Eventually, Roth gave written disciplinary charges to Colaner, including reprimands for acting discourteously to the public.
(2 of 2)


In his summation, Irizarry's attorney dismissed the charges against his clients as false, alleging that Colaner held a grudge against the two for the previous night's events and acted with unnecessary force toward them.



The prosecution, in its summation before the judge, argued that testimony from previous witnesses proved that Irizarry's son did try to open the car door himself and kick Colaner when the officer tried to arrest him. It also claimed that testimony from other arresting officers proved that Irizarry was pulling her arms away and resisting arrest, and that both parties were guilty of the crimes for which they were charged.

The incident has previously been the source of a Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office investigation and police investigation into accusations of police misconduct by Colaner. Both investigations were closed because a lack of evidence. In both cases, Irizarry was advised by her attorney not to give statements, Irizarry has said. She and her son since have filed a civil suit against the borough.
Colleen Curry: 732-308-7758; [e-mail]

I don't know Ms. Curry -- but this article was written to be sensationalist. In fact, if the average reader didn't know anything about this prior to reading the matter, one might think this was the civil matter or that the officer was on trial.

This is a criminal prosecution. The woman is on trial, not the officer.

The officer has been cleared of any wrong-doing. The testimony of the son is filled with self-serving bias so as not to even be credible -- yet that is the focus of the reporting.

The reporting should be on the events that transpired that led to the arrest. Where is the more mundane quotes from witnesses that clearly contradict the criminal defendants.

The criminal defendants are trying to buttress their own civil suit, and the Park Press is complicit in sensationalizing their claims -- which appear to hold no water.

It is exactly this type of journalism and sensationalism that drives news by creating news. The goal her is to sell what people will buy -- police brutality, bad cops, poor victims being harassed by wild-eyed officers of the law. While not explicitly stated here, the paper is also clearly selling on race relations.

How many other routine "resisting arrest" cases will merit newspaper write-ups?

This is an unnecessary black-eye on the outstanding police department Freehold Borough has. Those officers do remarkable jobs, for below market pay, in dangerous and uncertain circumstances. For the local newspaper to glorify this matter for its own purposes or to help frame a bogus civil action is simply distasteful. This country will never move forward until we stop making news out of nothing, solely to profit on fear, hate, and stereotypes.

Kudos to the Freehold police who are charged with keeping freehold safe in a hostile environment -- and apparently under the watchful eye of an irresponsible press.

[BrianSullivan]

Feb 18, 2010 14:59:34 GMT -5 richardkelsey said:

Feb 18, 2010 9:11:53 GMT -5 BrianSullivan said:

www.app.com/article/20100217/NEWS05/2170339/1285/LOCAL09/Teen-testifies-Freehold-cop-punched-him-pinned-mom-against-car

FREEHOLD — "Stop disrespecting my mom! Stop disrespecting my mom!"




Those were the words that a 15-year-old boy yelled at borough police officer Chris Colaner when the officer allegedly had his mother pinned against their car during a motor vehicle stop, according to the boy's testimony Tuesday in a criminal case against him and his mother, Freehold Township resident Migdalia Irizarry.

The youth testified that Colaner then opened the car door and punched him in the face before throwing him on the ground.

Both Irizarry and her son are charged with obstructing justice and resisting arrest during a motor vehicle stop the night of Jan. 29, 2008. Following the youth's testimony and that of borough police Officer Zandra Vega and Police Chief Mitchell Roth on Tuesday, Superior Court Judge Eugene A. Iadanza said he expected to announce a judgment Feb. 25.

Irizarry is accused of blocking Colaner from trying to arrest her son while he yelled at the officer. The youth also is charged with aggravated assault on a police officer after allegedly kicking Colaner when the officer entered the vehicle.

The youth testified that he watched as Colaner pulled his mother's car over, ordered her out of the car without explaining why he pulled her over and then grabbed her arm, twisted it behind her back and pinned her against the car. He said he could not hear any conversation between the two because the windows were closed.

When the boy rolled down the window to yell at the officer, he explained that no more than 20 seconds passed before he was thrown on the ground and told he was going to jail. He testified that he never struck Colaner.

In other testimony Tuesday, Vega said that on the night before the incident, she heard Colaner curse at and threaten Irizarry with arrest when trying to control a crowd at a youth basketball game.

Roth testified that he met with Irizarry the morning of Jan. 29, 2008, when she came into the station to file a complaint about Colaner's language and behavior the prior night. Roth said he did not inform Colaner of the complaint before the motor vehicle stop later that night. Eventually, Roth gave written disciplinary charges to Colaner, including reprimands for acting discourteously to the public.
(2 of 2)


In his summation, Irizarry's attorney dismissed the charges against his clients as false, alleging that Colaner held a grudge against the two for the previous night's events and acted with unnecessary force toward them.



The prosecution, in its summation before the judge, argued that testimony from previous witnesses proved that Irizarry's son did try to open the car door himself and kick Colaner when the officer tried to arrest him. It also claimed that testimony from other arresting officers proved that Irizarry was pulling her arms away and resisting arrest, and that both parties were guilty of the crimes for which they were charged.

The incident has previously been the source of a Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office investigation and police investigation into accusations of police misconduct by Colaner. Both investigations were closed because a lack of evidence. In both cases, Irizarry was advised by her attorney not to give statements, Irizarry has said. She and her son since have filed a civil suit against the borough.
Colleen Curry: 732-308-7758; [e-mail]

I don't know Ms. Curry -- but this article was written to be sensationalist. In fact, if the average reader didn't know anything about this prior to reading the matter, one might think this was the civil matter or that the officer was on trial.

This is a criminal prosecution. The woman is on trial, not the officer.

The officer has been cleared of any wrong-doing. The testimony of the son is filled with self-serving bias so as not to even be credible -- yet that is the focus of the reporting.

The reporting should be on the events that transpired that led to the arrest. Where is the more mundane quotes from witnesses that clearly contradict the criminal defendants.

The criminal defendants are trying to buttress their own civil suit, and the Park Press is complicit in sensationalizing their claims -- which appear to hold no water.

It is exactly this type of journalism and sensationalism that drives news by creating news. The goal her is to sell what people will buy -- police brutality, bad cops, poor victims being harassed by wild-eyed officers of the law. While not explicitly stated here, the paper is also clearly selling on race relations.

How many other routine "resisting arrest" cases will merit newspaper write-ups?

This is an unnecessary black-eye on the outstanding police department Freehold Borough has. Those officers do remarkable jobs, for below market pay, in dangerous and uncertain circumstances. For the local newspaper to glorify this matter for its own purposes or to help frame a bogus civil action is simply distasteful. This country will never move forward until we stop making news out of nothing, solely to profit on fear, hate, and stereotypes.

Kudos to the Freehold police who are charged with keeping freehold safe in a hostile environment -- and apparently under the watchful eye of an irresponsible press.

The article certainly dose come across as sensationalism, but that is something we can unfortunately understand from this web site. Hard news sells. I can put up twenty good news stories without a single person commenting, but put something like this up, and there are a few comments. The APP site where this article is found has 51 comments at the time of this writing. By comparison a, if the APP had a good story about the police, there certainly would not be 51 comments. Go to Colleens site and see the most popular and commented on posts. Most are hardball in nature.

Rich, you mention the unnecessary black eye on the department. It is for that reason I am going to say what I have before and will never stop- I ask people to please take the time to compliment the FB Police. Send a letter to the editor, any web site, or to the PD web site. Say thank you to a police officer you see on the street, just thank them. They need to hear it and they appreciate it.

[lisas84]

Colleen has a very engaging way of writing. She has mastered the concept of the lead. Rich, I absolutely understand what you have pointed out and can agree on a general basis; you nailed the new media. Back in the day, the "penny press," the early tabloids of the 1800s, gave rise to the expression "yellow journalism." Sensationalism has a long history.

Remember, Colleen has editors who direct her. If they want the more emotional response rather than a dry account, she must do so. Here, sure the editors could have had her fill in more about the history of this case, for context.

And in her defense, she did mention "a criminal case" in her lead.

Rich, there are folks like you and I who can enjoy straight factual "dry" reporting, in-depth analysis. But we are a minority, overall. But if you look at TV "news" and many of the TV shows, they are all rather fast-moving, emotionally charged, soundbyte seeking. I don't know if this is a case of the Media having ADD and inflicting it upon the public, or the public developing stunted attention spans and demanding the media act the same way.

[richardkelsey]

Feb 19, 2010 8:55:23 GMT -5 lisas84 said:

Colleen has a very engaging way of writing. She has mastered the concept of the lead. Rich, I absolutely understand what you have pointed out and can agree on a general basis; you nailed the new media. Back in the day, the "penny press," the early tabloids of the 1800s, gave rise to the expression "yellow journalism." Sensationalism has a long history.

Remember, Colleen has editors who direct her. If they want the more emotional response rather than a dry account, she must do so. Here, sure the editors could have had her fill in more about the history of this case, for context.

And in her defense, she did mention "a criminal case" in her lead.

Rich, there are folks like you and I who can enjoy straight factual "dry" reporting, in-depth analysis. But we are a minority, overall. But if you look at TV "news" and many of the TV shows, they are all rather fast-moving, emotionally charged, soundbyte seeking. I don't know if this is a case of the Media having ADD and inflicting it upon the public, or the public developing stunted attention spans and demanding the media act the same way.

BTW -- I don't doubt for one second that the writer is following the direction of those above her. And, to that extent, she did a good job. I just wish we could get away from this type of crap.

[lisas84]

Rich, you and I both. I hear you loud and clear!

I remember once when I was a rock music interviewer -- I had an interview with a former guitarist for KISS who went on to found his own band. They wanted me to ask him sexual questions! I was so ... embarrassed. I was only 20 years old! It was funny, though. His publicists and manager wanted him to have a sexually charged bad boy presence. I was in his backstage dressing room interviewing him, nobody else was around. We were in our groove talking about songwriting, recording, producing, trends in sounds. Suddenly, I remembered what I had to do. I turned red and told him, uh, I have to ask... so I did. He turned red and gave a stock reply. We laughed and then went back to talking about the music.

[adefonzo]

As interested as I am to hear more about Lisa's "sexually charged" interview with a former KISS guitarist (perhaps on another thread)...has there been any news on this case since this thread lost it's steam?

The article mentioned that the Judge anticipated a judgement by February 25th. Has there been one?

[lisas84]

Hey, Andrew!

I think the judgment was postponed due to snow.

To tell you about that interview, basically, it was all about his music and the state of the music trends at the time. I had to throw that one question in there much to my embarrassment -- and his too; he had to play the part. It was actually funny.