Body cameras could be fully deployed by September, says Chief Darren McConnell. (2016 photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)
By JOHN T. WARD
As they will across New Jersey, police-worn body cams will soon be the norm in Red Bank, officials said.
But state funding for the devices and related data storage will only cover about a third of the cost, said police chief and acting borough administrator Darren McConnell.
Borough Attorney Greg Cannon at Wednesday’s council meeting. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)
By JOHN T. WARD
Red Bank’s borough attorney apologized Wednesday night for a bizarre episode last month in which he redirected a video camera belonging to former Councilwoman Cindy Burnham.
Attorney Greg Cannon offered the mea culpa after being pressed for it by Locust Avenue resident Ben Forest.
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Borough Attorney Greg Cannon at Wednesday’s council meeting. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)
By JOHN T. WARD
Former Red Bank Council President Cindy Burnham blasted borough Attorney Greg Cannon after he redirected a video camera she was using to record the governing body’s semimonthly meeting Wednesday night.
Mid-meeting, while others on the dais were speaking about unrelated matters, Cannon walked from his seat beside Mayor Pasquale Menna to the front row of the audience and re-aimed Burnham’s tripod-mounted camera before returning to his seat.
Body cameras are being tested by RBPD’s traffic unit, but Chief Darren McConnell said he’s holding off on adopting general usage. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)
By JOHN T. WARD
Eight months after his department won a grant to purchase body cameras, Red Bank police Chief Darren McConnell says he’s holding off, waiting for improvements in the technology.
Routine use of the cameras is inevitable, McConnell tells redbankgreen. But he’s not a strong believer that they’re necessary, and at present, they’re beyond his budget, even with the free money.
Borough police will get 20 body cameras under a grant. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)
By JOHN T. WARD
Red Bank police will soon begin wearing body cameras on the streets, under a grant announced Monday by Acting New Jersey Attorney General John Hoffman.
Aimed at increasing transparency in policing, the program will provide 176 towns statewide with $2.5 million to buy 5,000 cameras and ancillary equipment, Hoffman.
Red Bank is slated to get almost $9,000 under the program, enough to buy 20 cameras, according to a list published by nj.com. More →
Five months after a devastating fire, the Rumson mansion known as Blithewald was demolished Monday.
The 132-year-old home, on Buena Vista Avenue, was undergoing extensive redecoration for use as a designer showcase for the monthlong VNA Stately Homes by the Sea when it burned down in April. Investigators ruled the cause of the blaze accidental. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)
Monday’s fire at the Rumson mansion known as Blithewald appears to have been accidental, according to the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s office.
Spokesman Charlie Webster told redbankgreen on Thursday that investigators believe the fire began in a wall between a guest room and an en-suite bathroom on the second floor. But they were unable to determine if a live electrical circuit or equipment was the cause, he said.
At the time of the fire, Blithewald, on Buena Vista Avenue, was undergoing extensive redecoration for use as a designer showcase for the monthlong VNA Stately Homes by the Sea fundraiser fundraiser, which was to have begun Saturday but has now been cancelled. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)
Here’s a Sea Bright firefighter’s view, courtesy of a helmet-mounted camera, of Monday’s fire at the Rumson mansion known as Blithewald.
A message on the Sea Bright Fire Rescue Facebook page says this about the footage:
“We feel that releasing this film will not only give the public insight on what we do but will allow our brothers and sisters of the service an opportunity to better both themselves and ourselves in the future. The members made multiple attempts to try and gain control of the fire with an interior attack but were subsequently driven back. Please excuse some of the language as the guys were in the heat of the moment.”
Celluloid earrings featuring James Dean are among the items included in the going-out-of-business sale at Nature’s Emporium. (Photo by Danielle Tepper. Click to enlarge)
By DANIELLE TEPPER
Welcome to Window Shopping the Green, a new regular feature for redbankgreen.
The idea here is simply to call out interesting items that catch our eye as we wander the stores of the Green.
We kick off with an ending, though. Fair Havens Natures Emporium will close its doors March 2 after 40 years of business, but not before hosting a blowout sale.
A volunteer Red Bank firefighter shot this video with a camera attached to his helmet during the blaze that destroyed a two-family house on Hudson Avenue in the early morning hours of May 17. All six occupants of the house escaped safely.
The firefighter approached the house through the back yard from Clay Street and found the rear of the structure fully engulfed in flame.
Warning: coarse language.
A second clue to last week’s Where Have I Seen This? didn’t keep some fans of this feature from going a bit astray.
One guessed it was taken at Prown’s Home Improvement on Monmouth Street. Another suggested “Page Photo Service (Matthew Page) located at 113 West Front Street, Red Bank” and added: “They had purchased the entire facilities of the Camera Shop formerly located in Carlton Theater building,” which is of course now the Count Basie Theatre.