Keeping it cool, calm and collected
Tenafly Local 376 members show model composure
when dealing with an irate citizen
n BY AMBER RAMUNDO
Picture the scene:
Tenafly Local 376 member Matthew Savitsky was patrolling on
U.S. Route 9W when a car drove by with tinted windows and an
obstructed license plate from out of state. Upon pulling over the
vehicle to investigate, Savitsky discovered that the car was from Ne-
vada and its registration was more than a year expired. The vehicle
also didn’t belong to the driver or even the three passengers inside.
Savitsky followed standard procedure and called a tow truck to
impound the vehicle. In the meantime, he offered the driver and his
passengers options about how to get a ride home.
Sounds like a standard response stop, right? Savitsky thought
so, too. As did fellow patrol officer Tom Casper, who arrived on the
scene for backup.
“The driver was going to be issued a few tickets and that was
basically it,” Savitsky explained. “The whole situation was routine.
None of the passengers created a problem.”
There wasn’t an issue until Caren Turner, the mother of one of
the backseat passengers, arrived on scene to pick up the four civil-
ians. From the moment Turner exited her vehicle, the routine stop
took an interesting and almost unbelievable turn. You can see it for
yourself in the eight-minute dash cam footage that went viral inter-
nationally practically overnight.
“I’ve dealt with a few individuals who present themselves in a
certain way even before opening their mouth,” Savitsky noted. “You
just know where it’s going from square one.”
Turner stormed over to Savitsky and Casper with business cards
and a badge in hand. She introduced herself as a concerned citizen
and friend of the mayor who demanded to know the reason for the
traffic stop.
“I just knew that basically before we started going down the rab-
bit hole of getting into a debate on the side of the road, it kind of
just needed to be shut down by keeping the (confrontation) very
brief,” Savitsky noted when reflecting on the March 31 incident.
No matter how much Savitsky attempted to extinguish the con-
flict, Turner continued to push, demanding information, accusing
the officers of ruining their Easter weekend and threatening to file
a complaint. Throughout the confrontation, she cited credentials
that she felt afforded her special treatment on the scene, like the
gold badge that she presented that identified her as a Port Authority
commissioner, or her history as a longtime Tenafly resident or even
that fact that the passengers in the car were students in doctoral
programs.
“I’m very disappointed in the way the two of you are acting. You
cannot even tell me, a mother living in Tenafly for 20 years with two
kids who went through the school system, what the problem is,”
Turner can be heard saying in the video. “You can’t put a sentence
together, that’s pathetic. And you are a disappointment.”
Even through the insults, Savitsky and Casper remained profes-
sional. Savitsky advised Turner that if she needed to know the rea-
son for the vehicle stop, she could ask the driver, who was over 18
years of age. Watching the video might prompt a question about
how the officers could keep their cool as a civilian makes such in-
sulting accusations, at one point event demanding Savitsky to “shut
Former Port Authority commissioner Caren Turner makes unwarranted de-
mands of Tenafly Officers Tom Casper (left) and Matthew Savitsky.
the f--- up.” But after being on the job with Local 376 for seven
years, Savitsky knew that in a situation like this, it’s always better
for the officer to take the high road.
“You learn to recognize what works with somebody who’s trying
to get under your skin,” he shared. “You have to just let it bounce
off of you and not get emotional, because you really can’t react as
you might if you were in your personal life. On the job, you’re held
to that higher standard.”
Savitsky also knew that the confrontation was being recorded by
his dash cam. He felt comfort on the scene knowing that if the civil-
ian filed any sort of grievance, he would be protected by the footage
caught on tape.
“This is one of the best tools that we have available to us,” he
commented. “Sometimes, crazy things happen when you least ex-
pect it. I think it’s a great tool for us to help guys be confident in
themselves and what they’re doing, to go out there and hopefully
present themselves in a positive light.”
Turner never did end up filing a complaint, and she resigned
from her position as a Port Authority commissioner soon after the
video surfaced on social media and across the Internet. The release
of the video also caused international response. Phones rang off the
hook, and Savitsky’s inbox was flooded with hundreds of emails for
weeks. Local 376 rece ived letters from as far away as Australia and
Canada, applauding Savitsky and Casper’s professionalism. Clips of
the video also appeared on Fox News and ABC News.
Savitsky may never forget the traffic stop that turned out to be
not so routine. He hopes that the incident can provide motivation
for other officers to be confident on the job and always do the right
thing.
“Be confident in yourself and your position,” he advised. “Don’t
second-guess yourself as long as you were respectful and doing
what you’re supposed to do.” d
www.njcopsmagazine.com
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