A timesheet change is raising questions about a ranking Union City police officer’s otherwise uneventful car crash that occurred last month, according to documents obtained by HCV.
By John Heinis/Hudson County View
On December 18th, 2018, at approximately 4:25 p.m., Union City Police Lt. Juan Loaces was driving his police vehicle and was attempting to merge onto Route 3 West, a Secaucus police report from the incident says.
Another driver, a 33-year-old Bloomfield man, told Secaucus police that he was in the left lane of Paterson Plank Road and struck the bumper of Loaces’ vehicle when he merged to enter the highway, according to the report.
The man told authorities that Loaces was in a right turn only lane, but continued straight when his white Toyota Camry merged to the right.
Secaucus Police Officer Jonathan Padron writes in the report that Loaces continuing straight in the right turn only lane appeared to be a “contributing factor of the accident,” based on the damage assessed at the scene.
The report, which was obtained through an Open Public Records Act request, also lists that Loaces had two passengers in the vehicle at the time of the accident, but all of their identifying information is redacted.
By all accounts, the accident appears to be a minor fender bender consistent with the bustling rush hour traffic in Hudson County.
However, a timesheet forwarded to HCV on January 11th indicates that Loaces was working from 10 a.m. until 6 p.m. on December 18th.
Then, a second December 18th timesheet for Loaces obtained by HCV on January 21st, says that the ranking officer worked from 8 a.m. until 4 p.m.
Loaces could not be reached for comment and a representative from the Union City Fraternal Order of Police, his union, did not return calls or a text message seeking comment.
Good catch, John. Do you know whethee the time sheet “correction” has been forwarded to internal affairs? It certainly ought to be investigated by them since on its face, it looks like evidence of a conspiracy to cover up the fact that the officer was not on duty when he was supposed to be.
Thanks, I am under the impression this is being investigated, but cannot say with 100 percent certainty if it is or not.