A Clifton police chase in June 2017 ended in the death of motorcyclist Frank A. Lovato of Bergen County. Lovato's estate has sued the city police department and several officers, claiming the chase should have been terminated.
A police sergeant in Passaic County who supervised officers involved in a high-speed chase that ended in a motorcyclist’s death has filed court papers stating the man who died should have stopped for police.along Van Houten Avenue over an alleged violation and suspicion that the vehicle may have been stolen.
In December 2021, the Office of the New Jersey General announced it would not file charges against Clifton police Officer John Ferraro, one of the officers who chased Lovato with his lights and sirens on. In an answer filed Feb. 8, attorneys for Hayes placed the blame for the fatal crash on Lovato for refusing to stop for police.
“The intentional, unlawful and criminal conduct of plaintiff is the direct and proximate cause of his damages,” attorneys for Hayes state.