New police body camera footage shows a New Jersey mayor falling and losing her balance while she is being arrested on St. Patrick’s Day for drunk driving with her young son in the car.
Lumberton Township Police say that Mayor Gina LaPlaca was arrested on March 17 after they got a call about her driving while distracted.
NBC Philadelphia got a copy of a new police video that shows cops arriving at her house around 5:40 p.m. People saw her take her son out of his car seat after picking him up from daycare.
At least twice, you can see her lose her balance in the video. The mirror on the passenger side of her car was badly broken.
She was told by a police officer, “We got a lot of calls with multiple claims that you ran a red light and were swerving.”
The other person said, “Oh, I’m sorry.”
She was given a field sobriety test, and when asked to stand on one leg, she was seen to lose her balance. Because she was driving while drunk, she was arrested.
Police found a water bottle with alcohol in it and a small bottle of liquor inside the car.
When she got to the police station, the officer told her she needed to go to the hospital because her blood alcohol level was so high.
A police summons says that a witness gave police video of LaPlaca driving badly and almost hitting a utility pole.
The court date for her is April 15. NBC News has reached out to Lumberton Township, LaPlaca, and her lawyer to get their thoughts.
Last week at a Lumberton Township Committee meeting, people in the town asked her to step down.
Amy Callahan, a business owner and resident of Lumberton, told NBC Philadelphia, “There is a huge black eye and black cloud over our town right now.” “I do think that as a community we need to move on and really turn the page.” I don’t think that can happen with her on our council.
Another member of the committee, Terrance Benson, agreed with the calls for her to step down.
Benson said, “I think the mayor should step down and take some time to heal herself.”
NBC Philadelphia reported that LaPlaca’s political activist husband, Jason Carty, wrote on social media after her arrest that she has battled with addiction.
