VIDEO: NJ police chief was passed out, pants down, on roadway in DWI arrest

HAMILTON (Mercer) — A police chief from Burlington County now facing DWI charges in Mercer County was lying down in the road behind his pickup truck, keys and cell phone strewn nearby — as seen in body camera footage from the April arrest.

The video shows what happened after police caught up with Bordentown Police Chief Brian Pesce, who has been charged with crashing his vehicle and fleeing the scene earlier in the evening.

The truck’s driver-side door was flung open as Hamilton police officers arrived on April 22 to see Bordentown Police Chief Brian Pesce, lying on his left side near the curb behind his Chevy Silverado.

The belt on his pants is open and his jeans are partly down and the officers wonder out loud whether he had urinated or thrown up on one of the truck's tires before falling to the ground.

In the one Hamilton officer’s bodycam footage, as shared to YouTube by The Trentonian, Pesce nods that yes, he’s married.

When asked if they can call his wife, the police chief sprawled on the pavement asks “What’s the problem” to which the officer says “uh, nothing," adding after a beat: "But you look sick.”

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“You’re sleeping in the middle of the road… your pants are down,” the other officer says in another video shared to YouTube by NJ.com.

He asks “Are you diabetic?”

“Not at all,” Pesce says — to which the officer responds: “Probably the wrong answer.”

Pesce has been on restricted duty until further notice pending investigation results as he faces charges for five traffic offenses.

Officials said his vehicle caused property damage in the area of Bruin Drive and Terrapin Lane about 10:30 p.m. He was charged with drunk driving, leaving the scene of an accident involving property damage, failing to report an accident, reckless driving and careless driving.

After Pesce is loaded into an ambulance, he’s told he’s under suspicion of DWI and going to the hospital for a blood draw, to which he throws his arms up and says “I drove?”

“There’s been several calls — and another caller that saw you get out of the car and walk to the back," the officer replies.

Pesce disputes that he had been driving, saying “No one was driving.”

He was promoted to chief in 2018, after 20 years with Bordentown police, following the resignation of disgraced former Bordentown Police Chief Frank Nucera.

With previous reporting by Rick Rickman

Erin Vogt is a reporter and anchor for New Jersey 101.5. You can reach her at erin.vogt@townsquaremedia.com

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