Officer Charged After Encounter With N.J. Lawmaker Acquitted of Falsifying Arrest
By Mike DeNardo
WOODBURY, N.J. (CBS) -- A Washington Township police officer charged with illegally arresting New Jersey assemblyman Paul Moriarty on DUI charges has been acquitted on all counts.
A Gloucester County jury today found police officer Joseph DiBuonaventura not guilty of 14 charges stemming from his 2012 DUI arrest of Moriarty.
Defense attorney Lou Barbone says the officer's dashboard video showed Moriarty's car cutting off the officer.
"Looking at that video as any real expert would, or any police officer would, you would immediately be able to recognize exactly why the officer did what he did," Barbone said today.
The DUI charges against Moriarty were dropped after the video was first released.
Barbone says DiBuonaventura has been driving a limo to make ends meet and wants his job back: "He's dying to get back to work and prove that he did the right thing."
Moriarty issued a statement saying he's disappointed and respects the verdict, and that "the video evidence speaks for itself and requires no interpretation."
Moriarty has filed a civil case against the officer.
