Man Assaults Cranford Cop During Second Arrest In 1 Day: Police

CRANFORD, NJ - A Linden man is accused of assaulting a police officer during one of two arrests that took place hours apart from each other, authorities said.

Ryan Gallagher, 30, was initially stopped by Cranford police during a motor vehicle stop on Saturday at around 8:30 p.m. for several traffic violations, Cranford police said in a blotter statement.

Though Gallagher attempted to flee the traffic stop at Walnut and South Avenues, he was subsequently arrested for obstruction and resisting arrest; he was also issued motor vehicle summonses for careless driving, failure to stop at red signal, failure to wear seatbelt, delaying traffic and improper U-turn, police said.

Though Gallagher was processed, provided a Superior Court appearance date and released, he was arrested nearly three hours later near the Cranford NJ Transit station, police said.

At around 11 p.m., Cranford police responded to a business on the 200 Block of South Avenue East on a report of a disturbance, with Officer Antonio Bellomo locating the suspect - Gallagher - walking on Centennial Avenue near Cumming Street.

“During the course of this investigation, Gallagher became combative with Officer Bellomo, resulting in him being arrested for aggravated assault on law enforcement and resisting arrest,” police said.

Gallagher was processed again; this time, he was transported to the Union County Jail. He is currently pending a detention hearing.