A former Union City police officer was arrested in Guttenberg for criminal sexual contact for inappropriately touching a female employee of a flower shop, authorities said.
By John Heinis/Hudson County View
On Tuesday, July 23rd, a woman walked into the Guttenberg Police Department, reporting that she was the victim of a criminal sexual contact while working inside of a flower shop on Park Avenue, according to Police Lt. Aleksandar Ramadanovic.
During the commission of the crime, the suspect was said to have brandished a badge, indicating that he was a former Union City police officer.
Members of the Guttenberg Police Department’s Patrol Division forwarded this information to their Criminal Investigations Bureau, at which time detectives immediately launched an investigation.
Over the course of a few days, detectives recovered relevant video surveillance footage and successfully identified the suspect as Ytalo Savinovich, 52, of Cliffside Park.
He was charged with criminal sexual contact and harassment. Both charges were issued on a complaint warrant and the defendant was not apprehended.
Then, earlier today, the Cliffside Park Police Department notified Guttenberg police that they had located and apprehended Savinovich, who was then transported to the Guttenberg PD for his arrest processing.
Following his arrest processing, he was transported to a local hospital for a medical evaluation to be cleared for incarceration. Once medically cleared, Savinovich will be transported and lodged in the Hudson County Correctional Center.
If anyone has any information pertaining to this incident, they are urged to contact the Guttenberg PD at 201-868-3300 or email Lt. Steven Diaz at sdiaz@guttenbergpolice.org or Det. Sgt. Marcin Rysiec ar mrysiec@guttenbergpolice.org.
“I’d like to thank my detectives and the Cliffside Park Police Department for their outstanding work in investigating and apprehending this defendant,” Guttenberg Deputy Chief Frank Pelaez said in a statement.
“To our residents, rest assured that our officers and the officers of our neighboring jurisdictions are always working towards fostering safer communities for you all.”
According to public records, was a Union City cop between April 1998 and April 2008 and received a disability pension. Back in November 2012, he was charged with impersonating a police officer and breaking into a female stranger’s home, the Jersey Journal reported.
