Frum Woman Arrested For Eluding Who She Thought May Not Be Police

EXCLUSIVE: A Frum woman driving on Squankum Road early this morning was arrested after she failed to pull over for Howell Police. At about 2:30 AM this morning, the woman was driving home from New York, when she saw lights in her rear-view mirror. Unsure who it was, the woman, alone in the car, panicked and kept driving, while she called Lakewood Hatzolah.

The woman finally came to a stop in Lakewood, at County Line Road, where she was met by multiple Howell officers and immediately cuffed and taken into Howell Police custody for eluding police.

Police did not want to hear from the woman or from Hatzolah.

The husband arrived to the scene and was told to follow his wife to the Howell Police Station.

Back in Lakewood, local Askonim reached out to Lakewood Police who reached out to Howell to see to it that the situation is resolved as soon as possible.

The woman was issued a summons and released a short time later.

“The best thing to do in such a situation, is to put on your hazard lights to indicate to police that you’re not eluding them, and call 911 and advise them you’re being followed”, a Lakewood Police Chaplain tells TLS.

Askonim are hoping that with the help of the recording of the Hatzolah call, she will be found not guilty. TLS-CCP/TLS-00/TLS-MK.

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96 COMMENTS

  4. Well they attempted to stop her in Howell on Squankum and when she didn’t stop they followed her to Lakewood.
    The Howell police are known not to be nice.

  7. W A R N I N G

    In the State of New Jersey, ALL police officers are automatically deputized in every other jurisdiction within the state. So a Camden officer can make an arrest in Paterson by virtue of being a Paterson Deputy.

  9. She should NOT have stopped. She was correct in not stopping – her safety first!! I agree with the police chaplain – somehow, she should have signaled that she was not ignoring them, and she should have called 911. Her safety first! It is stupid to be a lone young woman on the side of the ride at night in a secluded area.

  12. Please enough with the howell police bashing. If they were pulling over, she was obviously speeding, had expired tags or some other violation. In the dark of night, the Howell police offer could not know it was a frum woman and decide to arbitrarily pull her over. That said, living in a sheltered environment, a lot of frum people have no knowledge about how to handle this situation. (Moderated).

    And it has nothing to do with “golus” either.

  13. THERE IS A FEW THINGS ODD ABOUT THIS STORY:

    WE ALL TOOK THE TEST, AND IN THE MANUAL IT STATED TO PULL OVER WHEN YOU SEE FLASHING LIGHTS. this isnt a suggestion- its the law.
    IF FOR SOME REASON YOU ARE SCARED, PUT YOUR HAZARD LIGHTS ON, CALL 911, AND REDUCE YOUR SPEED. PROCEED TO THE NEXT WELL LIT, AREA WITH PEOPLE AROUND.
    (i can not guarantee you still wont be wearing handcuffs, but it will certainly be much better received then just ignoring & calling a private ambulance company)

    WHY DID SHE CALL HATZOLAH? they are an ambulance service. not the police. I think the frum community needs a reminder of who to call & when.

    WHY DID HATZOLAH RESPOND TO THE SCENE OF A TRAFFIC STOP? (when officers presumed it to be a chase? do you realize how dangerous that could have been?)

    “local Askonim reached out to Lakewood Police” – FOR WHAT? LAKEWOOD POLICE HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH THIS.

  14. I have always found Howell police to be nice and helpful. Maybe if you are not obeying the law they are not nice. Police in other towns don’t have the tolerance for Frum that Lkwd does. Frum should realize this and try to remember how to drive when outside of Lkwd. Making an lllegal turn in Jackson or Howell and getting a ticket is not targeting Jews, it’s enforcing the law of the towns and the state. You should really print this. It might help someone traveling outside of Lkwd.

  15. Howell police have a problem must be nothing else to do in howell. They pulled me over last week. I pulled out of aldis he jumped behind me and stop me right b4 lakewood border. Gave me some Excuse looked and seen I had a car full of kids and then he pulled off. Another time leaving walmart. As soon as they read lakewood plates they assume ur up to no good!!

  18. I know somebody that was pulled over and stopped. BUT IT WASN’T A COP!!! It was a guy that had a knife and ordered her out of the car. He then noticed the baby in the back seat and changed his mind. (He was never caught) Bottom line, this lady did the right thing under the circumstance.

  19. To # 12:
    Just imagine if you were a woman being pulled over by an unmarked car with flashing lights in the middle of a dark secluded area, where there may be passing cars once in 10-15 minutes.
    She must have been scared, nervous, etc.. and was not leisurely looking for a # to call. Probably knew hatzoloh # by heart, and nervously asked them what to do.
    Hatzoloh is a ambulance service, but you and I know that they are on call 24/7 to help any yid in any situation, not just medical.

    Just imagine if it would be your wife out there. There have been a few cases recently where impostors have pulled people over.

    Local askonim will help a fellow yid in any situation, as you would be infinitely grateful if they helped your wife get out of jail.

  22. You clearly are a person with integrity and respect for the law. You have mentioned several times on TLS that you were Jewish. I dare you to wear a yarmulke or better yet a hat and drive a mini-van through Howell a couple of times.. Obey all the traffic laws. Don’t think you’re gonna get pulled over? Try it.

  23. She did the right thing. Yes, she should have put on her hazard lights, but she panicked.

    If I was in that situation, I would have done the exact same thing.

    I do believe that those who say she should have just pulled over, are so sheltered that they have no idea what kind of dangers are lurking out there. Things that TLS would not allow me to write on this website.

    Do your own reaearch.

  24. Unfortunately the majority of frum women have no clue what to do in these situations, they rightfully panic when approached from a person out of there comfort zone including police officers. although she did not stop when she was directed to the Howell police dept followed there protocols for this exact situation. this doesn’t mean that they are kind people, and they are very aggressive to the residents of Lakewood. There should be a weekly safety driving class for the women of Lakewood they drive with there high beams directly at the car approaching, as well as not paying full attention to the road. I saw a fire engine trying to pass a lady and she didn’t even acknowledge his presents they should learn how to use the vehicle equipment including changing a tire if no help is close by.etc ..

  25. Mr Conservative: I know you’re law abiding citizen and a proud Jew.
    Why not put on a yarmulke or better yet a hat and drive on Route 9 through Howell. Obey all the traffic laws. Try it for 1 month. Let us know how many times you were pulled over.

  26. The police tell women driving alone to pull into a well lit area if someone’s following them. The lady did the right thing. The police need to start using their heads.
    Years ago we were taught that policemen were our friends and we could trust them to help us. Nowadays, it’s a whole different ballgame. A few bad apples have given the police a bad name. Some of the younger officers are on an ego trip and forget that they’re there to serve as well as to protect.
    I hope this issue is resolved quickly. I also hope that people will learn from this and not allow their wives or daughters to drive alone late at night. This time it was a real cop, next time…

  27. some really silly statements posted here, what if everyone decided that when they are being stopped by the police that they should just ignore it , please people get real . you cannot just decide that I did nothing wrong so I won’t pay any attention to the flashing lights that are behind me.

  28. PEOPLE THIS ISN’T A WAR TORN COUNTRY, THE PROCEDURE IS SIMPLE:

    1. YOU PULL OVER. (keeping your car in Drive just in case)
    2. LOCK YOUR DOORS, AND OPEN YOUR WINDOW JUST A CRACK(just enough to hear the officer, and be heard)
    3. CALL YOUR FRIEND/FAMILY AND TELL THEM YOUR EXACT LOCATION AND WHATS GOING ON. HAVE THE LINE OPEN SO THEY CAN HEAR.
    4. WHEN THE OFFICER APPROACHES, TELL THE OFFICER YOU ARE SCARED, AND DOUBTFUL OF HIS IDENTITY. ASK TO SEE HIS IDENTIFICATION. AND THAT YOU HAVE A FAMILY MEMBER ON THE OPEN LINE.

    -but to keep driving, and to call a private ambulance service is just plain (moderated). if you are to scared of police officers, and the whole traffic stop procedure, please feel free to forfeit your PRIVILEGED to drive. we have laws, and they must be followed. if your to scared then you shouldn’t be behind the wheel in such a populated area anyway.

    AND I DONT WANT TO HEAR ANYONE SAYING THIS IS RACIST, BIGOTED, OR SOME HOW ANTI-SEMI.
    THE SAME PROCEDURE WOULD BE FOLLOWED BY OFFICERS IN ISRAEL FOR SOMEONE WHO FAILS TO PULL OVER FOR OFFICERS!!!
    (if anything officers and military personnel are much more militant in Israel than here in “politically & culturally sensitive” NJ.)->and i support Israel all the way with this.

  29. Quote ““The best thing to do in such a situation, is to put on your hazard lights to indicate to police that you’re not eluding them, and call 911 and advise them you’re being followed”, a Lakewood Police Chaplain tells”
    So what does the Chief have to say not the chaplain

  30. stop with the mean comments it was prob one of those black dodges that do not look anything like cop cars! at 2:30 am as a female alone i wouldn’t either pull over!!!!!!

  31. 18 i so agree with you and mr. conservative, you are exactly what your name is-imagine you inher shoes-just try i know it may be hard-but try again-its scary freakky and alarming thank you hatzolah for always being there

  32. I am deeply impressed with the words of wisdom from Mr. Conservative, and I agree with and support his advice on this matter. We do not live in an isolated community out in the desert. We live in a large township, with other large townships all around us.

    Driving is a privilege, earned by successfully passing a drivers examination and being awarded a drivers license.

    A police car, with flashing lights, and a uniformed officer are sufficient to compel a driver to pull over, as is provided by statute. The driver placed many people in danger by her actions.

    Once stopped, a 911 call is encouraged. Keep the door locked and the drivers window cracked to allow for conversation with the officer. A simple request to proceed to a well lit area will generally be accommodated, however, do not believe that proceeding to a different jurisdiction will help. It will not. It will only increase the danger for all parties.

  35. She absolutely should not have stopped!!! Police should realize that no resposible woman driving alone would stop. Of course, calling Hatzolah first was not the brightest thing to do. First call 911, and then, if you are still nervous, you can call Hatzolah or LCSW and ask them what to do.

  36. mr. Conservative,

    She had no idea the guy was a cop. IHe was driving an unmarked car at 2:30 AM. You don’t pull over in such a situation. The guy could have pulled a gun on her and do [moderated] to her. She was right for not pulling over.

    However, she should have put on her hazard lights, call 911 and let them know she would like to be met by a marked car. She panicked, so she didn’t think of doing it.

    The fact that she called Hatzolah proves beyond a reasonable doubt that she was scared.

    The only thing she is guilty of is calling Hatzolah, instead of calling 911.

  37. I agree – at 2:30 am I would not pull over either as a woman alone. I’m not an inexperienced driver or sheltered person. But although I’m driving for about 30 years, I would not know to put on the hazard lights. Also, there is no well lit area on Squankum for a long ways. I am not good at dialing a number in the dark, but would probably try my home, not 911 – that would be my gut reaction.

  38. People should know a little history about Howell cops – about 30 years ago – route 9 was still only one lane each way into Lakewood and was very hazardous and especially on Friday traffic was awful. Regrettably in one car accident on 9, the mayor of Howell was killed. After that Howell cops pledged and revenged this by becoming the most aggressive traffic cops in the nation. They even had a sign entering Howell with a cop holding a gun at you on the 9 stating: Welcome to Howell: Killer Highway USA. Everyone in Lakewood and most of NJ knew NEVER speed in Howell. Today most of us in Lakewood have forgotten that, but the cops haven’t and they still have a desire to give out as many traffic tickets as possible. Too bad we had to get this reminder.

  39. I don’t know if the issue with Howell police is antisemitism because I work with non-Jews only and in my office the Howell police have a very bad reputation there also

  42. i know this has nothing to do with this topic, but whats with the weather? i used to check it every day in the lakewoodscoop, but lately its not working 🙁

  45. She actually did the right thing. I learned that if you are uncertain if it is really a cop you should not stop in an empty place. You continue until there is a lit parking lot etc. Unfortunately there have been many cases where people DID stop and had very sad endings. I would have done exactly as this lady did and would not have known what I did wrong. I never learned to put on hazards just to continue until you are not in a vacant area. The cops there are nasty – and I am usually the first to support our men in uniform but Howell cops are known to be mean and they do treat Jews worse.

  48. In NYC women at night are allowed to drive to the police station with the cop car following, those police in Jersey are over the top, how many police did they need for this dangerous, elusive perp?!!

  50. Hey Chris, where on my license plate does it say I’m from Lakewood???

    chris says:
    AUGUST 31, 2011 AT 11:38 AM
    Howell police have a problem must be nothing else to do in howell. They pulled me over last week. I pulled out of aldis he jumped behind me and stop me right b4 lakewood border. Gave me some Excuse looked and seen I had a car full of kids and then he pulled off. Another time leaving walmart. As soon as they read lakewood plates they assume ur up to no good!

  52. So the general consensus here from all the genius is as follows:

    If I am:

    1. Female (150,000,000 million americans)
    2. Driving at night
    3. On a dark road
    4. I do not pull over for a cop?

    Sounds like mass chaos to me!

  53. in general HOWELL COPS are known to be tough (heard from a trucker in buffalo ny) all the truckers know to be careful of speed traps in howell nj the cops will nail you. squankum road especially late at night when one is rushing home etc is a favorite spot for them to hide and catch you.
    on the other hand i personally on a winter short erev shabbos getting stuck in traffic stopped a howell cop and explained to him my predicament was 5 minutes to licht bentchin to give me an escort (w/o lights or siren as isnt an emergency) and he kindly told me to follow him until the lkwd border. so you have all sorts of officers out their.
    this woman was in a pickle either choice isnt good stopping and if it wasnt a cop?and to continue which she did and was arrested hopefully will result with case being dismissed

  58. since no commentators know the story first hand,yet talk and question as if they do, i will ask them to explain the following.

    story states she was met by many howell police cars at county and squankum. now, how did those cops get there? did they go around her as she was travelling?? why then didnt they indicate that they want her to stop.

    i havent seen any story state that she was speeding, also she never turned off the road she went straight at proper speed, that is not ELUSIVE at all. she simply didnt pull over.

    why didnt the cops of lakewood meet the howell cops to deal with the suspect who was eluding cops, every other time a suspect eludes cops all townships hop in on the chase.

    why didnt the cops from howell have the decency to talk to her husband and first responders? they all ought to be disciplined enough to have basic courtesy since they lack common sense.perhaps thats why they have a horrible reputation.

    on and on i can go with intelligent questions about their behavior, its pointless though as nothing concrete will change, unless there is video and a lawsuit.

    now as far as the woman is concerned i feel for her , she certainly did what she should have using her best judgment.

    the police and the media should print the “requirements” and “guides” for behavior in such circumstances, after all remember they want us safe. and we pay their salaries.

    i would take the best and loudest lawyer out there.

  61. She may have had Hatzolah programmed into her phone like many of us do. So it’s a one-key shortcut we hope never to need. This is simpler than dialing out a number, even 911.

  62. #18 wrote this. what is your response?

    To # 12:
    Just imagine if you were a woman being pulled over by an unmarked car with flashing lights in the middle of a dark secluded area, where there may be passing cars once in 10-15 minutes.
    She must have been scared, nervous, etc.. and was not leisurely looking for a # to call. Probably knew hatzoloh # by heart, and nervously asked them what to do.
    Hatzoloh is a ambulance service, but you and I know that they are on call 24/7 to help any yid in any situation, not just medical.

    Just imagine if it would be your wife out there. There have been a few cases recently where impostors have pulled people over.

  65. i dont belive this story ! i hear so many bad things about the howell cops.evrytime i go to target or walmart down the 9 there are ALWAYS one or two howell cops waiting to chop fish (jews)

  66. I borrowed someone’s car one time and i was driving on squankum rd in howell and i got pulled over by a howell police officer.The police officer told me that the vehicles owner has a suspended license (this was about 6pm on my way to NY). When i came back to lakewood from NY a couple of hours later approximately 1245am i again got pulled over by a howell police officer on squankum rd for the same reason. It seems that they are a little too eager to pull over people.

  69. to #63 — If you go to Lakewood on the Parkway and get off at exit 98, you end up on Squankum Rd. via Hwy 195. (Unless the road is closed due to flooding, like last Sun. then you have to get off by Rte. 9). This is a very popular way to go to Lakewood. I do it all the time.

  71. Yes! Finally #64 says it! If you are too scared to be driving on a “deserted” road, so scared, in fact, that you are afraid to pull over for a police officer, then you should not be out driving.

    Perhaps, in the future, those returning in the middle of the night from anywhere should stick to well-lit roads. Stay on the Parkway all the way into Lakewood, or take 195 to Rte 9 south.

    Maybe this woman should have said to herself, “it really wasn’t so smart to choose to drive on a dark road, all alone, in the middle of the night”. I think it’s incredibly irresponsible of so many commenters on here to vilify the police department because someone made a bad choice, and then panicked.

  72. we have to realize lakewood police give out a tiny fraction of the amount of tickets that they could issue.We are truly blessed in lkwd and must appreciate that the police spend most of their resources protecting us and not generating income for the town.

  74. At 2.30 in the morning, the way to go is Rt 9. I feel very bad for this woman who was probably terrified and I assume blinded by the lights behind her. She called Hatzolah because it was in her speed dial. Unfortunately, whatever her reasoning, and it was sound, she has a tough case to fight.

  76. Readers Digest once had an article about the most ticketed cities in the US, where in conclusion they named our very own Howell NJ as ‘THE TICKET CAPITAL OF AMERICA’

  77. #13 Mr Conservative-Thank you
    #25 Anonymous says- give me a break! putting on jewish garb will get you pulled over more frequently? this must be the new version of racial profiling. I’m guessing if you want to get away with any motor vehicle violation all of us would have to fit the mold of white anglo saxan christians. dah..everyone knows this! Get a clue and get out of the closet

  79. give me a break people! there’s a lot of comments about how howell police are itching to pull over any and everybody from the jewish community. it was 2:30am. what, was the officer using his night vision goggles to spot the first jew he could nab. no, wait, she must of had a neon bumper sticker saying “yid on board”

  81. read today news how an on duty police officer is phily attacked a women.

    she did the right thing and the police officer should have been understanding as good chance she was not speeding.

    if he could not listen to the explanation – then it is his inner ego (which many police officers have as a fault) took over his sense of care and judgment.
    \
    would love for the judge to hear the recodings of hatzola and give a kick in the pants to this police officer who may not be married to understand safety is first. Did he have lights on the top of his car- not that imposters have also such lights

  82. Guess you’re one of the one’s who blow red lights, stop signs, tailgate, ignore painted lines and speed in your smoke spewing salvage-mobile with a cracked windshield, bald tires, squeaking steering pump, blown headlight, taillight and turn-signal bulbs (if you ever use them) while talking on the cell phone, with kids bouncing around the car, not to mention not having current insurance. That’s really helping us stay safe. If you want to risk your life that’s your prerogative but don’t risk ours. If people like you did get tickets we could hire more cops. But then you’d probably complain about the Police not fighting crime. Well I suppose you are at least a deterrent to crime because no one will steal your car.

  83. Please let’s stop bashing howell police officers. I was once pulled over for speeding i payed my ticket and moved on with my life. Maybe we all need to start taking responsibility for the decisions we make and stop blaming people for not being sensitive enough or for profiling people. If she was so scared she should have called 911 and said someone was following her. Obey the law.

  84. the same people who make these ridiculous statements ” WHY DIDNT SHE PULL OVER” are the sam one who if chas vshalom an impostor would stop a woman would say ” HOW SHELTERED ARE OUR PEOPLE DONT THEY KNOW WE LIVE IN A CRAZY WORLD” get real she panicked it was 230 am story over.

  85. last time i checked flashing lights on a police, ambulance, fire truck and even hatzolah vehicles means STOP not continue driving. just pull off to the side of the road.

  86. howell police have every right to write people tickets EVERY single time some body breaks a law. They dont have to be the nice guys that let people go like everyone is use to

  87. I drive carefully and safely, and can vouch for the fact that some Howell police will pull you over late at night for absolutely no reason at all. I once drove back from a NY wedding (accompanied by 2 friends) in a deep fog. As I approached the Howell/Lakewood border at close to 1 am, I noticed flashing lights behind me. I had never been pulled over before and was driving safely in the right lane. The cop first asked me what I thought I had done wrong, to try to get me to admit something he had not seen. As I had done nothing wrong, I stated plainly that I had no idea why he had pulled me over. He then circled my car, asked me if I was drunk, said I was driving a tad below the speed limit (remember, there was a DEEP FOG) and gave some cockamainy excuse that one of my license plate lights was out. (I checked later – it wasn’t. He just couldn’t see it in the fog) I was not ticketed, but I probably would have been had I not had passengers in my car.
    Since then, I try to avoid Howell – especially Route 9 – like the plague. (I use GSP exit 89)

  88. for those who drive into lakewood via squankum late at night, there is an undercovered cop hidding on the side almost evry night!! usually any time fter 12am. i got pulled over for speeding once and they know alot of ppl speed there at night.

  89. ok i am so happy that everyone learned their lesson not to travel on squankum and rt 9 at nigth and leave the poor lady alone-i’m sure she will get a lawyer and whatever the real judge above wants will be-it just may be a kapara-it is elul in the end

  92. This Howell bashing by just a few in our community give us a black eye to every Howel cop who read this. Some cops may not be the nicest as is the case in all forces but for the most part they are really nice and profesional.

  93. #92, I`m sure that when you get pulled over by Howell PD they will remember your courageous comment you made and let you off with just 1 ticket instead of five for every crack in your Minivans headlights.

  94. Follow the traffic laws, and you wont give them a reason to pull you over. Driving just 1 mile over the speed limit is an offense, and can LEGALLY result in a 2 point ticket.

  95. I had an expired inspection sticker which was more than a year over due, and a cracked rear lens. A cop in Howell pulled me over and told me he could ticket me for the expired sticker AND the cracked lens but, he only gave me a ticket for the cracked lens, a cheaper ticket. He was being nice. Maybe he shouldn’t have ticketed me at all if he was really nice, but he was just doing his job.

  96. The woman was pursued by Howell Township Police because she did something in their jurisdiction. That is why they followed to to Lakewood. The Lakewood PD was notified Howell was in a slow pursuit and did not need help from Lakewood. There were Lakewood Officers in the area but were told they were not needed.
    Calling Hatzolah is not always the answer, Call the Lakewood Police, they will know what is going on, most of the time. Police talk to police.
    She should have pulled over..there were 2 patrol cars behind her when they stopped her

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