Lights flash in the darkness as the police pull up behind a black SUV. It’s parked in the dirt off the side of the road. The squawking radio says it just swiped a guardrail.

The door opens and the driver sways as he gets out, bracing himself on the doorframe. He regains his balance, puts his hands in his pockets and walks over to the police car, stepping out of view of the dashboard camera.

“What’s goin’ on?” an officer asks.

“I’m goin’ home” – or something similar – the driver mumbles. He is Keith Aiello, the chief of police in Independence Township, responsible for the safety of the 5,500 people who live there. He’s talking to one of his own officers.

“Somebody told us there’s (an) erratic” vehicle, the officer says.

“Yeah?”

“Yeah.”

A pause.

“Not me,” the chief says.

The rest of a dashcam video is mostly silent. It shows two police officers inspecting the township-owned vehicle and speaking inaudibly with the chief. Then he gets in the back of the squad car for a lift home.

An accident report notes that alcohol was involved, but there were no sobriety tests conducted. No one was hurt, and no charges were apparently ever filed.

The accident happened at 2:17 a.m. Feb. 10 in Ryan Road near Cat Swamp Road in Independence.

Now it appears it could cost Aiello his job. He is on unpaid suspension pending a termination hearing, township attorney Leslie Parikh confirmed.

Aiello was put on paid administrative leave shortly after the February accident. That changed to a suspension without pay early in September after the Warren County Prosecutor’s Office concluded its investigation into the crash, Parikh said.

The dashcam video was publicly released on Tuesday thanks to a court order.

New Jersey open-records advocate John Paff sued Independence for inappropriately withholding the video when he requested it and other public documents related to the incident. The township immediately complied, and Paff posted it and related records on his blog.

(NOTE: A condensed version of the video is embedded at the top of this post. The full, 5-and-a-half-minute video is on Paff’s YouTube channel.)

According to the accident report, Aiello told the officers that he was trying to find his cellphone when he scraped the guardrail. The use of alcohol is noted in code in a box on the report – as per standard guidelines – but is not described further.

Aiello deferred comment to his attorney, Stuart Alterman, who did not return calls to his office this week. Alterman has previously referred to Aiello’s conflicts with township leadership as “a political lynching.”

The Independence Township police department is responsible for public safety in the 20-square-mile Warren County township of about 5,500 people.lehighvalleylive.com file photo

In a separate, ongoing dispute, Independence wants to impose another 60-day unpaid suspension for Aiello’s role in a 2017 police chase, in which he allegedly violated department and state policies on pursuits “in significant and life-threatening ways.”

Aiello took command of the Independence Township police in July 2017, just a few months before the pursuit. He has more than two decades of experience as a law enforcement officer and Gulf War combat veteran from the Marines and Army. He also runs Cobra One Tactical, a local Airsoft weapons and accessories store and range.

While he has served his leave and suspension, a lieutenant is in charge of the small department. The headquarters is not staffed 24/7, but the department website says an officer is always on patrol.

Steve Novak may be reached at snovak@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow him on Twitter @SteveNovakLVL and Facebook. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook.