Video of NJ fire chief’s drunk driving arrest makes news
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It’s not a good day when a New York Daily News headline is talking about a fire chief vomiting and urinating on himself. It’s only made worse by a police dash-cam video of the chief’s arrest for driving while intoxicated.
The somewhat good news for the city of Rahway, New Jersey is this occurred off-duty. The 60-year-old chief and was in his personal vehicle on the way home from a party. The bad news, of course, is that this is the fire chief and there have been two rounds of stories in New Jersey and New York news media in less than two weeks.
The first series of stories began January 10 when news finally surfaced of the November 11 arrest of William R. Young Jr, Rahway Fire Department’s chief and director. The second wave began yesterday (Sunday) with NJ.com getting that police dash-cam video (video below).
Looking at the various articles, this comment to NJ.com reporter Marisa Iati is the only public statement about Chief Young’s status:
Rahway Mayor Raymond Giacobbe Jr. confirmed Friday that Young still has his job but declined to elaborate, saying it was city policy not to comment on ongoing personnel issues.
I’m not sure if that’s the best strategy for the image of the fire chief, the department and the city. When those in charge mess up in a very public way it’s better for all to address it head on and in a transparent manner. Besides the trust of the public, there’s going to be the issue of a fire chief and the city dealing with any similar situations involving those who report to the chief.
This mess for Chief Young is another reminder for everyone, especially those in positions of leadership, that even off-duty incidents no longer are just local stories that will easily go away. Digital media sends them far and wide and they last for a long time.
Jackson police charged William R. Young Jr., with driving while intoxicated on Nov. 11 after callers to dispatch reported he had almost hit a bus and a wall, according to a police report.
Officer Michael Morizio spotted Young’s white BMW around 10:40 p.m. when he stopped short at a stop sign on Diamond Road and then sat without moving, the report said. The officer turned on his emergency lights and got out of the car to approach the BMW, but Young drove away, Morizio wrote in the report.
The officer followed Young and activated his sirens, causing Young to pull over near Alexander Avenue, the report said.
Elizabeth Elizalde, Daily News:
He told the officers he wasn’t that drunk and didn’t urinate on himself, according to the video.
Young, 60, was also stumbling back and forth before he was handcuffed.
One of the officers said he smelled alcohol while Young was searching for his documents in his car, and noticed the fire chief had vomit stains on his sweatshirt and a urine stain on his pants, the police report says.
