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The drunk driver who hit a Nassau County police officer early Sunday morning managed to "beat the system" by getting a NJ license even while his NY driver's license was suspended. The cop, Kenneth Baribault who had just pulled over a different DWI driver, was in his patrol car when Rahiem Griffin plowed into the cruiser with his Merecedes at 75MPH.
According to Newsday, Griffin's NY license had been suspended in twice for unpaid tickets and had other citations. Griffin managed to get a NJ license last year--he dropped his middle initial-- and NJ's Motor Vehicle Commission didn't realize he had other suspensions. The NJ license was suspended in February 2008 for an unpaid ticket.
Griffin's lawyer claimed his client had "dozed off" right before the crash, and asked for $2,500 bail, but the judge set it at 200,000 bond or $100,000 cash. Nassau County Executive Thomas Suozzi said of DWI-related crashes, "It's not appropriate to call these accidents, These are conscious decisions by people to get behind the wheel of the car when they've been drinking."
Baribault's family is keeping a vigil for him; he suffered massive head trauma and doctors removed a piece of his skull to relieve pressure from swelling. The 30-year-old cop had been studying for his BA at Empire State College and would often take on overtime work "to pay for his 6-year-old son's extracurricular activities."
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Rahiem Griffin = GUILTY!
WTF NJ?!?! I had to beg, borrow and steal to get a damn license in NJ, and I had never done anything wrong or had any infractions or accidents. It took MONTHS, because of a misprint on my birth certificate...I had to contact the original county and had them re-do the certificate and then re-certify it and re-file it and then re-look it back up to make me a copy for the DMV.
They go through all this trouble to make sure you aren't a foreigner but yet they can't detect someone with multiple infractions in a neighboring state just because he dropped his middle initial?!?!
Get your shit together, NJ.
Can't wait to see that cop, fully recovered, at the state house in Trenton.
I hope the policeman recovers fully, but WTF with NJ
bureaucrats? I had to prove my ID with 5 documents before my licence was issued.
2 drunk idiots driving near each other? Nassau better gets its act together.