Cops In Camouflage Nail Drivers

New Jersey police used a shrub disguise to catch distracted drivers, and the stunt put 74 citations on the board in six hours.

Quick Take

Dunellen police say the operation targeted drivers using handheld phones on North Washington Avenue.
An officer wore a shrub-like camouflage suit and watched traffic with binoculars.
Police reported 74 citations during a six-hour enforcement detail.
Some outlets reported 70 drivers, while others reported 74 citations, showing a public count mismatch.

What Dunellen Police Did

The Dunellen Police Department ran a distracted-driving detail on North Washington Avenue in Dunellen, New Jersey. Officers say the area is heavily trafficked and pedestrian-heavy, which made it a target for enforcement. One officer dressed in a shrub-like camouflage outfit and watched drivers from the roadside while other officers made the stops. The department said the goal was to catch motorists using handheld devices and remind them to keep their eyes on the road.

Police also turned the operation into a social media message. Their post joked, “Did you spot our ‘shrub’ today?” and warned drivers that “That text or notification can wait.” CBS News New York reported that Dunellen police described the photo as a “creative, lighthearted way” to draw attention to safety efforts. That framing makes the tactic look playful, but the enforcement itself was real and tied to New Jersey’s handheld cellphone law.

Why Police Say They Chose the Tactic

Police said the shrub disguise helped officers observe drivers without being noticed right away. ABC7NY reported that the detail focused on a highly trafficked downtown stretch and that officers issued 74 citations within six hours. The department’s logic was simple: distraction is easier to spot when a hidden officer can watch traffic closely from the curb. From a public-safety angle, that is a common-sense response to a dangerous habit that puts everyone on the road at risk.

Det. Sgt. Nicholas Goldman told CBS that the photo was meant to draw attention to the crackdown, not to replace standard policing. That matters because it shows the stunt was not random theater. It was a planned traffic operation with a publicity layer built in. For readers frustrated with reckless driving and weak enforcement, the result is hard to ignore: police found a way to catch drivers who thought they could get away with looking at their phones instead of the road.

The Citation Count Dispute

The one wrinkle in the public record is the count. Fox 29 reported that the operation caught 70 distracted drivers in six hours, while other reports, including CBS, News 12, Patch, ABC7NY, and social posts tied to the department, said police issued 74 citations. That does not change the core story, but it does show that the number bounced around as the story spread through local and national coverage.

There is no sign in the public material that the citations were fake or unsupported. The available reporting does not include a formal arrest log, a full citation ledger, or an after-action report, so the public is still relying mainly on police messaging and media accounts. Even so, the basic facts line up across sources: an officer posed as a shrub, watched drivers on a busy street, and helped police issue a large batch of summonses in one short operation.

BS BRIEFING: A New Jersey police officer disguised as a shrub helped issue 74 distracted-driving citations during a six-hour enforcement operation in Dunellen, New Jersey. The sting targeted motorists violating the state’s handheld cellphone law. The Dunellen Police Department…

— Common Sense with Chad Law (@chadparkerlaw) July 31, 2026

The bigger lesson is that distracted driving still needs active enforcement, not slogans. New Jersey law already bans handheld cellphone use while driving unless the device is hands-free, and Dunellen police used a sharp, unusual method to make that rule stick. Supporters will see it as smart policing that puts safety first. Critics may roll their eyes at the costume. But the citations show the tactic reached the people police were targeting.