Police Chief Arrested for DWI After Drunkenly Crashing Into a Fire Hydrant

Around 11:39 PM on November 29, 2024, Patrolman Peter Farmer with the Monmouth Beach Police Department arrived at the scene of a motor vehicle crash involving a blue 2020 Ford Explorer in the area of 766 Ocean Avenue in neighboring Sea Bright. He made contact with Detective Sergeant Charles Murphy and Lieutenant James McCue with the Sea Bright Police Department. They advised Patrolman Farmer that he had to take over the investigation because the person behind the wheel of the vehicle was their boss Chief Brett Friedman.

He then made contact with Brett, who was sitting in the passenger seat of Detective Sergeant Murphy’s vehicle. As he was speaking with Brett, Patrolman Farmer noticed that his speech was slurred and he observed other indicators of impairment. Based on his suspicion of impairment, Brett was eventually asked to exit the vehicle and perform field sobriety exercises in the parking lot of the Ship Ahoy Beach Club.

The first exercise was the Horizontal Gaze Nystagmus (HGN) test. During the HGN test, Patrolman Farmer was unable to make a determination due to his lack of cooperation. The second exercise was the Walk and Turn test. During the Walk and Turn test, Brett failed to touch heel-to-toe on each step, took an incorrect number of steps, and turned improperly. The final exercise was the One Leg Stand test. During the One Leg Stand test, Brett failed to raise his foot in the proper fashion and failed to keep his hands down at his sides.

Based on the motor vehicle crash, his lack of coherence, and his inability to satisfactorily complete the field sobriety exercises, Brett was placed under arrest for DWI. Brett was placed inside the patrol car, but he was not handcuffed. The vehicle was impounded for a 12-hour hold according to John’s Law, while Patrolman Farmer transported Brett to the Monmouth Beach Police Department for further processing.

At the station, the Standard Statement for Motor Vehicle Operators was read to her, and he initially agreed to submit breath samples. However, he continued coughing during the 20-minute observation period so it had to be reset multiple times. Eventually, he was charged with a refusal. After they finished processing Brett, he was released to Marybeth Schultz pending his court appearance after she signed the Potential Liability Warning on Brett’s behalf.

Patrolman Farmer issued Brett the following traffic tickets:

-Operating under the influence (39:4-50)

-Reckless driving (39:4-96)

-Refusal to submit to chemical test (39:4-50.4A)

Court records indicate that on March 20, 2025, the citation for reckless driving was downgraded to obstructing passage of other vehicles (39:4-67), while he was found guilty of refusal to submit to a chemical test. As a result of his convictions, Brett had to use an ignition interlock device for 9 months, spend 12 hours at an intoxicated driver resource center, and pay a total of $530 in fines.

Brett Friedman retired as the Chief of the Sea Bright Police Department on February 1, 2025, and he was succeeded by John Arias. Records indicate that his most recent base salary in the 2024 calendar year was $170,158. His total compensation for the 2023 year was $200,086, while it was $196,201 for the 2022 year.

----------------------------------------------

Please LIKE, SUBSCRIBE, and consider supporting this channel (email us for more information). Our content is shared for educational and news gathering purposes. We are in compliance with YouTube's Fair Use Policy because we edit several long clips into a concise story. This is similar to other law enforcement channels on YouTube. All videos and case documents were obtained pursuant to the New Jersey Open Public Records Act, N.J.S.A. 47:1A-1 et seq. (P.L. 2024, c.16). Defendants are considered innocent until proven guilty.

The New Jersey Supreme Court has previously affirmed in Salzano v. North Jersey Media Group, 993 A.2d 778 (2010) that “The fair-report privilege reflects the judgment that the need, in a self-governing society, for free-flowing information about matters of public interest outweighs concerns over the uncompensated injury to a person's reputation.” This video advances a compelling public interest. The summary of events was based on records that are “open to public view through open access to public records” as defined in the Salzano case. In Ramos v. Flowers, 429 N.J. Super. 13, the Appellate Division of the Superior Court has also affirmed the right to film law enforcement interactions.