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Ex-con indicted in assault on officers after 5-town Route 17 police chase

ONLY ON CVP: A grand jury in Newark indicted an ex-con from Newark on charges of fighting with a trio of Upper Saddle River police after a DWI stolen-car chase through five Bergen County towns.

Photo Credit: Courtesy BERGEN COUNTY SHERIFF

Upper Saddle River Police Sgt Jamie Board and Officers Kyle Zyskowski and Michael Spina were treated for minor injuries and released following the Aug. 28 incident, which authorities said began around 11:15 p.m. when 49-year-old Robert L. Hance was spotted driving erratically on Route 17

A low-speed pursuit ended when Hance drove off the highway and the vehicle struck a curb near a Linwood Avenue construction site in Ridgewood, Upper Saddle River Police Lt. Edward Kane told CLIFFVIEW PILOT at the time.

Hance bailed out and tried to run but was quickly caught, then scuffled with the officers, Kane said.

EMTs took Hance to Bergen Regional Medical Center in police custody. The Bergen County Prosecutor’s Fatal Accident Investigation Unit was called out due to the extent of what at the time appeared to be more serious injuries, a law enforcement source with direct knowledge of the incident said.

Police also seized the the black 1986 Chevy Caprice sedan, which CLIFFVIEW PILOT learned was taken from the owner of Nutley KIA and bore the license plate of a GMC truck out of Carlstadt.

Records show Hance has two outstanding warrants, along with at least one weapons-related arrest.

The four-count indictment returned against Hance alleges that he “operated a motor vehicle knowingly fleeing or attempting to elude [police] after having received a signal to bring the vehicle to a full stop…in a manner [that] created a risk of death or injury” through Allendale, Ho-Ho-Kus, Paramus, Upper Saddle River and Waldwick.

Besides charging him with stealing the Chevy, the indictment says that Hance “prevented or tried to prevent [the officers] from effecting an arrest by threatening to use physical force or violence against them” and “purposely, knowingly or recklessly caused bodily injury to all three officers while in the performance of their duties.”

Hance remained held on $50,000 bail in the Bergen County Jail today, down from an original $100,000.

MUGSHOT: Courtesy BERGEN COUNTY SHERIFF

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