Would-Be Samaritan Instead Arrested By Police

CBS
Jul. 30, 2007

Video Here(CBS) ROSELLE PARK, N.J. - A New Jersey woman trying to be a Good Samaritan was instead busted by police. And the whole troubling incident was caught on tape.

Monica Montoya, 25, happened to be walking by the scene of an accident in Roselle Park, N.J., when police asked her if she spoke Spanish and could help interpret for a woman who had just been struck by a van.

Montoya tells CBS 2 News that she agreed to help, but moments later, the 25-year-old's attorney says his client was bullied by police and placed under arrest.

Police, however, claim Montoya was being uncooperative, so they cuffed her and put her in a squad car.

The whole incident was caught on video, where her cries about her 6-year-old daughter could clearly be heard. Montoya said she was supposed to pick up her daughter from daycare.

Montoya was charged with obstruction of justice and resisting arrest.

Roselle Police told CBS 2 News that they are conducting an internal affairs investigation, and would not comment any further about Montoya's case.