(VIDEO) Jersey Police Officer Disguised as a Shrub Nabs 74 Distracted Drivers in Six-Hour Crackdown Wednesday

A police department outside New York City used an unusual tactic to catch distracted drivers this week, deploying an officer disguised as a shrub, complete with a pair of binoculars, to spot motorists using their phones behind the wheel.

The Dunellen Police Department in Middlesex County, New Jersey, stationed the disguised officer along North Washington Avenue on Wednesday as part of a six-hour enforcement operation targeting drivers in violation of the state's handheld cellphone law. The officer wore a ghillie suit, a camouflage outfit typically associated with military and hunting use that is designed to closely mimic surrounding foliage, allowing the officer to blend into the roadside landscape while observing passing traffic.

Police chose the location specifically because it is a heavily trafficked, pedestrian-heavy corridor in the borough's downtown area, according to Patch. From the concealed vantage point, the disguised officer used binoculars to identify drivers using handheld devices and radioed those observations to other officers stationed nearby, who then pulled over the identified vehicles. By the end of the six-hour operation, police had issued 74 citations to drivers found to be distracted by their phones or other devices.

The Dunellen Police Department detailed the results of the operation in a social media post following the crackdown. "The results? Our 'shrub' was busy. We issued 74 citations to drivers distracted by their devices in a six-hour window," the department wrote. "Let this be a reminder: That text or notification can wait. Keep your eyes on the road, not your screen!"

Det. Sgt. Nicholas Goldman, addressing the department's decision to publicize the operation with a lighthearted tone, explained the intent behind sharing photos of the disguised officer online. "Did you spot our 'shrub' today? If you had your head buried in your phone, probably not," the department wrote in an earlier post announcing the operation. "To address the elephant, or shrub, in the room, our officer didn't wear a ghillie suit during the entire enforcement detail." Goldman told CBS News New York the photo was intended as a creative way to draw public attention to the department's broader safety efforts on social media. In a separate photo shared by the department, another officer who participated in the crackdown wore a T-shirt printed with the message "not a cop."

New Jersey's handheld cellphone law prohibits drivers from using a mobile phone or similar device without hands-free technology while operating a vehicle. First-time offenders under the law face fines ranging from $200 to $400, according to Newser's reporting on the operation, with penalties generally increasing for repeat violations.

The Dunellen operation drew widespread attention online after ABC News shared footage and details of the enforcement effort, helping the story spread rapidly across social media and other news outlets covering unconventional police tactics. The department's approach generated a mixed public reaction, with some commenters online praising the creative enforcement method as an effective way to catch distracted drivers who might otherwise never suspect a roadside "shrub" was actually a police officer, while other commenters raised broader questions about the use of undercover or disguised tactics for traffic enforcement more generally, with some suggesting police resources might be better directed toward other public safety priorities.

Disguised or camouflaged enforcement tactics for traffic violations are not entirely unprecedented among U.S. police departments, though the specific use of a full ghillie suit to blend into roadside foliage represents a particularly elaborate version of the concept. Law enforcement agencies in various jurisdictions have periodically used unconventional, publicity-generating tactics, including disguises and unmarked observation posts, specifically to draw broader media and public attention to ongoing traffic safety campaigns, reasoning that the resulting news coverage and social media discussion can extend the deterrent effect of an enforcement operation well beyond the drivers who were directly cited during the crackdown itself.

Distracted driving remains a significant traffic safety concern nationally, with handheld device use behind the wheel cited as a contributing factor in a substantial share of vehicle crashes and traffic fatalities each year. States including New Jersey have continued to strengthen and actively enforce handheld device laws in recent years as part of broader efforts to reduce distraction-related crashes, with departments like Dunellen's periodically conducting high-visibility enforcement campaigns intended both to issue citations and to reinforce public awareness of the risks associated with phone use while driving.

With Wednesday's operation now concluded and its results widely publicized, the Dunellen Police Department's disguised enforcement effort is likely to be remembered as one of the more unconventional distracted-driving crackdowns conducted by a U.S. police department in recent memory, even as officials emphasized that the underlying goal remained squarely focused on reducing dangerous, phone-related driving behavior along one of the borough's busiest downtown corridors.