Gina LaPlaca DUI arrest bodycam video released as calls for Lumberton Township mayor to resign are newly amplified as Democrat NJ mayor vows to stay on.
How long will she last before she is forced out…? Newly released bodycam footage has showed the moment New Jersey mayor Gina LaPlaca staggering and crying as she’s arrested for allegedly drunk driving with her toddler son on St. Patrick’s Day.
Cops approached the Lumberton Township mayor in the driveway of her home around 5:40 p.m. on March 17 after a concerned resident called 911 to report the local politician’s ‘erratic driving’, released footage shows.
Officers with the Lumberton Police Department get out of a patrol car and wait for the 45-year-old Democratic Mayor (and this is key- Democratic) to take her son, whom she had just picked up from daycare, out of his car seat.
Gina LaPlaca DUI arrest raises questions of competency
Officers approaching the mother, notice the side-view mirror completely crushed, with LaPlaca telling officers the mirror had been damaged, mentioning she had hit something, before adding vaguely, ‘I don’t know.’
But if LaPlaca thought she was going to get off easily, there was more to come.
Soon, LaPlaca who is seen staggering and in a hazy funk, is asked to perform field sobriety tests, where police bodycam video shows her stumbling when asked to stand on one leg.
And just like that, the jig was up.
LaPlaca is seen weeping as officers place her in handcuffs, footage shows.
‘I’m sorry,’ the NJ mayor sheepishly tells officers.
While investigating LaPlaca’s car, officers allegedly found a water bottle filled with alcohol and a small liquor bottle. She was found have a blood alcohol level of 0.308% — nearly four times the N.J legal limit of 0.08%.
LaPlaca was arrested and charged with driving under the influence.
Police also charged LaPlaca with reckless driving and endangering the welfare of a child, according to court records.
Lumberton Mayor fighting her demons
The release of bodycam video has only hastened calls for the Democratic Mayor’s resignation, who has faced repeated calls to stand down and unrelenting media lambasting. It remains unclear if she will fight to stay in office, if the public will forgive her amid concerns of an out of control drinking problem.
LaPlaca has since promised to get help for her addiction.
The episode comes nearly two years after LaPlaca was arrested in October 2023 for allegedly assaulting her political activist husband. She had been facing domestic violence charges which were eventually dropped.
In the days since her March 17 arrest, LaPlaca has adamantly maintained that she would not resign from her mayoral position, which she’s held for the past 3 years.
‘Despite my issues, which I am working diligently and responsibly to address and improve myself, my work for Lumberton has NEVER suffered or been neglected nor will it be,’ LaPlaca previousy responded following a town hearing (which she personally did not attend) to discuss her latest arrest.
Stated one attendee, ‘You are a disgrace, and danger to not only your child, but the public. Resign in shame, and get your life together!’
LaPlaca is scheduled to next appear in court on April 28.
