Police in-car video/audio system leads to two arrests

SPOTSWOOD - A six-week investigation into a complaint about a police officer resulted in the arrest last week of two local residents.

According to police, Marianna Bukhman, 26, of East Brunswick, and David Flance, 28, of Monroe, were each charged with the fourth-degree offense of providing a false report to law enforcement.

The pair reportedly filed a complaint with the Spotswood Police Department after a borough police officer stopped Bukhman's vehicle on May 5. Flance was a passenger in the vehicle. The two occupants reported that the officer who stopped their car had poor demeanor and used abusive language toward them, according to Spotswood Police Sgt. Chris Bierman, who investigated the complaint alongwith Capt. Michael Zarro.

Bukhman provided police with written and verbal statements of her account, Bierman said, while Flance gave a verbal account.

Police had recently begun using the L3 Mobile-Vision in-car video and audio recording system, and Bierman said a review of the incident using that device showed the complaint was false and that there was no wrongdoing on the part of the officer.

Bierman described the complaint as an attempt by those in the vehicle to discredit the police officer.

"It seems there may have been a personal issue behind this over a past experience with one of the occupants and the police department," he said.

Bukhman was released on recognizance after being charged Friday. Flance was lodged at the Middlesex County Adult Correction Center, North Brunswick, in lieu of $5,000 bail with no 10 percent option. The two have a court date pending in state Superior Court, Bierman said.