A 67-year-old Paterson man was arrested Sunday after authorities say he drove past barricades along the route of the city's Dominican Parade and struck a police officer, fracturing the officer's hand. Nicolas Mendoza now faces charges including DUI, assault by auto, obstruction, and resisting arrest stemming from the incident, which unfolded near Park Avenue and East 22nd Street as officers worked the parade route.
According to Daily Voice, a vehicle passed barricades along the parade route, according to Rob Rowan. The officer suffered a fractured hand and other minor injuries when the vehicle struck him, per the same account. Mendoza was removed from the vehicle and arrested without further incident, the outlet reports.
Court records cited in the report show Mendoza was charged with assault by auto involving serious bodily injury, along with DUI, obstruction, and resisting arrest. The same records reflect a driving history stretching back more than 20 years, including three seat-belt violations and past infractions involving failure to possess driving documents.
A Milestone Celebration Interrupted
The Dominican Parade & Festival of New Jersey has been a fixture in Paterson since 1989, and the 35th annual march was held in 2024, according to RLS Media. The celebration draws enormous crowds in a city that is home to New Jersey's largest Dominican community, with census figures showing more than 29 percent of Paterson's over 159,000 residents identifying as Dominican, per Zip Atlas.
That scale of turnout is precisely why Sunday's barricade breach carried such risk to officers stationed along the way.
Charges Carry Added Weight Under State Law
New Jersey law separately addresses specified simple-assault conduct against an on-duty law enforcement officer. Under N.J.S.A. 2C:12-1(b)(5)(a), a simple assault against an on-duty law enforcement officer can become aggravated assault, carrying up to 18 months in prison as a fourth-degree crime, or up to five years in state prison if the officer sustains bodily injury, according to Justia Law.
Separately, the assault-by-auto statute under N.J.S.A. 2C:12-1(c) classifies reckless driving causing bodily injury as a criminal offense, and serious bodily injury generally produces a fourth-degree crime, while the charge escalates to a third-degree crime when the driver violated the DWI statute and serious bodily injury resulted, per Villani & DeLuca P.C. New Jersey's DUI statute, N.J.S.A. 39:4-50, also carries its own standalone penalties for first-time offenders: mandatory ignition interlock installation, fines between $250 and $500, mandatory attendance at an Intoxicated Driver Resource Center, and up to 30 days of imprisonment, according to the New Jersey Office of the Attorney General. The office provides information on impaired driving.
Policing Under State Oversight
The Paterson Police Department began operating under direct oversight of the New Jersey Attorney General in March 2023.
The officers deployed along the parade route this weekend, and any resulting investigation, are part of the department's broader law-enforcement response.
Part of a Wider Pattern in Passaic County
Sunday's incident involved a driver and a Paterson police officer. The article also discusses other incidents involving police vehicles.
Mendoza's arrest adds another case to that discussion, though the charges against him remain allegations that have not been proven in court. The source of the booking photo associated with the arrest was not identified.
