While police are supposed to regulate the streets and punish wrongdoers, there are times that they fail in their duties. For example, a police officer might racially profile a driver and assume that he is driving under the influence of alcohol even though there is not tangible proof. There are times that police officers allow their opinions or personal prejudice to affect the way that they work, and they may falsify documents in an attempt to punish someone that they do not enjoy or agree with. Recently, an Assemblyman from New Jersey known as Paul Moriarty filed a 27-count criminal complaint against the patrolman who pulled him over for drunk driving and accused him of the crime even though he was sober. According to the San Francisco Gate, Moriarty accused the officer of lying and falsifying the police report. He said that he was not drinking when he was pulled over in July by a patrolman in a Washington Township.

Allegedly, Moriarty was once mayor of the township. The police officer asked him to comply with field sobriety tests, and Moriarty did as he was told. When the police officer asked him to submit to a breath test, Moriarty refused. He said that he was suspicious about the way that the officer was acting and thought that he might be railroading Moriarty. The politician told the police officer that he would take a breath test after he talked to his lawyer, but the officer was not compliant with that request. In the state if New Jersey, refusing a breath test can result in the same loss of license as a DWI conviction. In fact, an offender doesn’t even need to be convicted of a DWI in the end in order to merit a conviction on this count.

As a lawmaker, Moriarty has questioned the legitimacy of a law that bars refusing breath tests. The assemblyman has also been instrumental in many laws on DUIs which have been reviewed in the state. It is not clear whether Moriarty knew the police officer who supposedly falsified his DUI before the exchange. The politician has vanity plates on his car which show that he is a politician, which may have been why the police officer pulled him over. There is also a chance that the police officer knew Moriarty by reputation and did not like his politics. Maybe the officer was a Republican, while Moriarty is a democrat. There’s also a possibility that the police officer lived in the Washington Township when Moriarty was mayor and did not agree with his policies at that time.

Regardless of the reason that the officer chose to falsify the documents, it was illegal for him to do so. A court will review the criminal complaint that was filed by Moriarty and his lawyer and determine whether or not the officer deserves to be punished for his deeds. Moriarity’s DUI case has not been proven false in court, but the district court where he lives had made no effort to schedule a hearing. Police chief Rafeal Muniz told the Associated Press that the misconduct allegations have been refereed to Gloucester County for investigations. The police say that men and women who refuse to take a breath test with the police have the right to go straight to a hospital where they can have a registered nurse conduct a blood test instead. As well, police argue that they cannot compromise a breath test because the machines have been certified by the New Jersey Supreme Court and the results cannot be altered. If you suspect that you have been issued a falsified DUI like Moriarty, contact a DUI attorney today to fight for you in court!