Basking Ridge Man Found Guilty Of Slamming Cop With Car During Wild High-Speed Chase

MANVILLE, NJ — A Basking Ridge man was found guilty in connection with a wild high-speed chase through Manville in 2023, where he hit a police lieutenant with his car and crashed into a house before being found in a basement.

A jury convicted Brian Niziolek, 39, of Basking Ridge, on Dec. 11, following a two-week trial of nine counts:

• Second-degree aggravated assault (attempt to cause serious bodily injury)
• Second-degree eluding; second-degree burglary while armed with a deadly weapon
• Second-degree unlawful possession of an assault firearm; second-degree unlawful possession of a handgun
• Third-degree aggravated assault (causing bodily injury to a law enforcement officer)
• Third-degree resisting arrest
• Fourth-degree unlawful possession of a high-capacity ammunition magazine
• Fourth-degree unlawful possession of a knife

On June 29, 2023, Manville Police got a report that Niziolek had a stolen vehicle.

Manville Lt. John Crater and Officer John Chismar found Niziolek driving the car on Pope Street and got out of their police vehicle to try and detain Niziolek.

Niziolek turned the wheels toward Crater, accelerated, and hit Crater in his arm and hip with the vehicle, propelling Crater against his own police vehicle, said authorities.

Crater and Chismar went back to their police vehicle and chased Niziolek as he sped away through Manville, with Manville Police Officer Christopher Ciempola joining.

Niziolek drove through Manville at speeds in excess of 60 mph and went the wrong way down a one-way street, until he crashed into a vehicle and then into a house on North 5th Avenue, said authorities.

After crashing into the house, Niziolek ran away before breaking through a basement window of a multi-unit apartment building on Brooks Boulevard in Manville.

Manville Police, with the help of officers from Bridgewater, Hillsborough, and a Somerset County Sheriff’s Department K9 Unit surrounded the house and found Niziolek hiding in a crawl space of a basement.

Crater removed Niziolek from the crawl space, handcuffed him, and placed him under arrest.

Police then searched Niziolek's car and found an illegal MAC-11 type 9mm semi-automatic assault firearm and an illegal high-capacity ammunition magazine containing 30 rounds, along with a bulletproof vest, said police.

Niziolek told police that he "hated” police; that police “need to die”; that he would “kill any cop I see from now on,” and “every time a cop gets shot in the face or shot anywhere, and especially if they die, I throw a party with all my friends. We get drinks, food, smoke weed, we watch the videos of the f****** ass cop getting shot, couple times, have a few laughs. I laugh when they get shot. The funniest thing would be if a mother****** pulled a gun on one of y’all ****** and made you cry and they shot you in the face."

The jury deliberated for around six hours before convicting Niziolek on nine counts.

On Dec. 12, Niziolek waived his right to a jury trial, and the Court conducted a bench trial on a second indictment charging Niziolek with second-degree certain persons not to possess firearms. The court convicted Niziolek on that charge.

Sentencing is scheduled for Jan. 26, 2026.

Based on Niziolek's prior criminal history, he faces an enhanced term as a persistent offender of up to 83 years in prison.

Prior arrests include:

• Basking Ridge Man Found Hiding In Garage, Charged With Burglary
• Basking Ridge Repeat Offender Found Guilty Of Possession of Gun

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