PEMBERTON, NJ – The Pemberton Police Department said its hands are tied when it comes to ending a long-running feud in town between two neighbors, blaming New Jersey state law and policy as the reason there have so far been no arrests made.
“The Pemberton Township Police Department is well aware of the on-going neighbor dispute on Filbert Avenue,” the department said stating that reports on social media posted this weekend are not accurate. “There has been some inaccurate information recently posted on social media that we just wanted to help clear up. Our officers have responded numerous times to Filbert Ave over the past couple of weeks. Often responding multiple times a day for disputes going on.”
The department said 15 criminal complaints have been filed by officers, but confirmed no arrests have been made.
“There have been over 15 criminal complaints filed with the court by our officers on behalf of the different neighbors involved. Most of the complaints were regarding disorderly persons offenses. In the state of New Jersey, police officers do not arrest people for disorderly person offenses (misdemeanors for lack of a better term) that do not happen in the officer’s presence,” the department said Saturday. “Even if they are on video. The citizen making the allegations would complete paperwork which is forwarded to the court and a judge reviews it to determine if there is probable cause to issue a summons.”
Police noted if an allegation involves an indictable offense, then the allegation is investigated by officers to determine if there is enough to arrest the accused.
“Due to some of the allegations we have a Detective who has been assigned and is working on investigating the claims,” the department said. “[He] has conducted multiple interviews and is coordinating with other agencies regarding the allegations. Our officers are certainly taking the investigations seriously and will continue to do so.”