Township Council Pushes to Get New Police Cars on Road Quickly

Township Council members wasted no time approving a resolution at an emergency meeting last night to get more police cars on the road.

The police cruisers sustained "major damage" according to the resolution approved by a council quorum.

The resolution called for the approval of Municipal Equipment Enterprises, a vendor on the New Jersey State Vendor List. The vendor is needed to install police equipment on the cars, which the township recently leased, Township Administrator Leonard Roeber said.

"They can get a couple of cars ready right away," he said.

Four police officers were injured and three police cars severely damaged when Bayville resident Kenneth Morris led police on a high-speed chase after assaulting a township resident with a tire iron on Brennan Concourse early Sunday morning.

Police cornered Morris, Northern Boulevard, on Brennan Concourse at the locked entrance to Berkeley Island County Park. He rammed the police cruisers and attacked officers. He was eventually subdued with pepper spray, Police Chief Karin T. DiMichele has said.

Three of the four officers were treated at Community Medical Center and a fourth sustained cuts from the incident.

Township Council Vice-President and Mayor-Elect Carmen F. Amato Jr. praised DiMichele and the officers for averting a situation that could have turned out much worse.

"They did a phenomenal job," Amato said. "The damage to the vehicles can always be repaired. Kudos to the chief and the police officers for handling a stressful situation."

Morris was no stranger to township police.

Morris was involved in a on Sept. 19, when police responded to his Northern Boulevard home after someone not at the residence called and said he had threatened some type of violence. He eventually came out and no charges were filed in that incident.

Morris was taken to Jersey Shore University Medical Center in Neptune with injuries he sustained when he rammed the police cars.

Morris was charged with five counts of second-degree aggravated assault, one count of third-degree aggravated assault and one count of second-degree eluding. More charges are expected, police said.

His bail was set at $750,000, with no 10 percent option.

The new cars are especially needed on Wednesdays, when the highest number of officers are on duty. Police officers now work four days a week, with ten-hour daily shifts, Roeber said.

The Township Council's next regular meeting is slated for Dec. 13. But an emergency meeting had to be called because of the damaged cars, Amato said after the meeting.

"We had to do it," he said.