Police Responsible for Drunken Mistake

Contributed by Rosie Cisneros

Ramsey and Bergen County police must pay a man who got drunk and passed out on a snow bank $850,000.

Frederick Puglisi left a New Year’s Eve party at a Ramsey County hotel in 2001 and passed out on a snow bank minutes later. Witnesses of his passing out called 911 but did not stay until police arrived. After they arrived, police conducted a cursory search of the scene, but did not find Puglisi. Puglisi was found nine hours later and had severe frostbite that lead to the amputation of several limbs. The jury in the Puglisi case found that Puglisi was only 15 percent responsible for his alcohol-induced injuries while the police, who should have found him sooner, were responsible for 85 percent.