Dash video clears officer accused of pointing gun at woman

PEQUANNOCK, N.J. (AP) — A woman given a break by a New Jersey police officer after running a stop sign lied and said he pointed a gun and yelled at her, authorities said Wednesday.

Pequannock Police Capt. Christopher DePuyt said that 50-year-old Hyacinth Peccoo, of Irvington, was charged with making a false report to law enforcement. She is due in court Dec. 14.

Officer Daniel Caffrey stopped her on Oct. 15 after he said she drove through a stop sign. Instead of an $85 ticket with two points, he gave her a $29 ticket with no points for failing to change the address on her driver's license.

"It was a completely amicable, easygoing traffic stop," DePuyt told The Record.

DePuyt said Peccoo made a complaint about Caffrey after she paid the ticket on Oct. 28. She met with the department's Internal Affairs officer, Detective Lt. Michael Fairweather and wrote out a statement alleging that Caffrey had yelled at her and pointed his gun at her.

Peccoo told Fairweather that she asked Caffrey if he was going to kill her in broad daylight.

A six-minute squad-car camera video of the traffic stop showed that Caffrey never removed his gun or yelled at Peccoo. DePuyt said she made her report "purely out of revenge."

It wasn't immediately clear if Peccoo had an attorney who could comment on her behalf, and she didn't return a message left at a phone number listed for her.