New Jersey

Veteran Says New Jersey Trooper Pointed Gun During Garden State Parkway Stop

A preliminary settlement has been reached in a lawsuit by a retired Army colonel who says a New Jersey state trooper pointed a gun at him and his daughter during a traffic stop.

R. Timothy Leever sued Trooper Rodrigo Coelho after a traffic stop on the Garden State Parkway in Colonia in 2010.

Leever claimed Coelho pulled him out of his car and pointed a gun at him and his daughter, handcuffed him and held him for 30 minutes. The suit claims Coelho didn't ask for identification or tell Leever why he was being detained.

The suit alleges Coelho mistook Leever's Volkswagen Beetle for a Volkswagen Jetta he had been searching for.

The New Jersey Turnpike Authority is scheduled to vote Tuesday on a settlement that would play Leever $112,500.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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