At the Princeton Town Council meeting on Tuesday, the Council voted to retain special counsel in an ongoing lawsuit involving the Princeton municipality and presented December’s police chief report.
Princeton mayor Mark Freda and the municipal entity of Princeton are defendants in a pending civil lawsuit regarding a car crash in 2021. Freda was involved in a high-speed car chase that resulted in two deaths. The lawsuit alleged that Freda bore some responsibility in the crash for chasing behind 15-year-old Damajia Jenay “Majia” Horner, who was driving a stolen vehicle that collided with the vehicle of Jodi Marcou, a 61-year-old administrator at Rutgers University. The crash resulted in the deaths of both Horner and Marcou.
An agreement between the municipality and DeCotiis, FitzPatrick, Cole & Giblin, LLP to retain the law firm’s services for “additional assistance and specialized legal advice” in the lawsuit was initially the sixth resolution on the meeting agenda. Freda moved the agreement to the end of the list of resolutions to recuse himself before voting began.
Without Freda, Council president Michelle Pirone Lambros led voting on the resolution about the agreement.
During discussion on the resolution, Lambros confirmed that, while the agreement specified payment to DeCotiis to not exceed $17,500, the municipality is not obligated to expend the full amount and funds would be allocated on a need basis.
“That’s always my understanding with a ‘not to exceed’ agreement,” Lambros said.
Attorney Trishka Waterbury Cecil, who has represented the town of Princeton since 2014, explained at the meeting that DeCotiis was contacted to serve a strictly advisory role in the lawsuit.
“The agreement is between the municipality and DeCotiis the law firm, and it is to provide special legal counsel to the municipality on a consulting basis in connection with the Marcou litigation,” Cecil said.
The agreement reached between the municipality and DeCotiis also states that the “intent of the services shall not be to enter an appearance in the litigation or supplant the role of assigned insurance defense counsel, but to provide additional assistance to the Council.”
The Council voted to pass the resolution to enact the agreement and approve the law firm as special counsel. The Council and Mayor also voted to pass eight other resolutions, spanning matters from waste collection carts to a stormwater utility feasibility study.
Earlier in the meeting, the Council and Freda also heard the monthly report from the Princeton Police Department for December 2025. Police Chief Matthew Solovay presented the report, first clarifying an oversight in the motor vehicle crash statistics reported for 2025, which documented one fatal accident.
“In actuality, we had two fatal motor vehicle collisions in 2025, both involving pedestrians,” Solovay said. “We keep that in mind as we try to solve some of the traffic safety issues in the future.”
The Police Department recently reintroduced its free nighttime Uber rides program, at a time when funding for the program hung in the balance.
“I’m extremely pleased to report that the police department has received several generous donations from community members to restart the ‘Princeton PD Provides Your DD’ program,” Solovay said during the report.
At the end of the report, Councilman Leighton Newlin thanked Solovay for his work as a recently appointed police chief.
“You have brought a new vision to the department, and I want to let you know that I see it. As you know, we’re in a difficult time in America,” Newlin said. “I charge you with paying attention to what’s going on in Minnesota and making sure that we, here in Princeton, have a different way of doing business.”
Teresa Chen is a staff News writer from Shanghai. She can be reached at tc7069[at]princeton.edu.
Please send any corrections to corrections[at]dailyprincetonian.com.
Read More
Newly elected GSG officers share goals for upcoming terms
Toby ChangOn Tuesday, the Graduate Student Government (GSG) Assembly confirmed the 11 newly elected and re-elected members of the GSG Executive Board. The Daily Princetonian conducted interviews with some of them.
On Tuesday, the Graduate Student Government (GSG) Assembly confirmed the 11 newly elected and re-elected members of the GSG Executive Board. The Daily Princetonian conducted interviews with some of them.
Princeton undergraduate on leave dies
Luke GrippoJefferson Voelker ’28 has died while on leave from Princeton.
Jefferson Voelker ’28 has died while on leave from Princeton.
NJ AI Hub set to launch AI Accelerator to globalize entrepreneur network
Haeon LeeThe New Jersey Artificial Intelligence Hub has partnered with the global innovation platform Plug and Play to launch an AI Accelerator. The program aims to connect local companies with global networks, attract international talent, and promote ethical AI development.
The New Jersey Artificial Intelligence Hub has partnered with the global innovation platform Plug and Play to launch an AI Accelerator. The program aims to connect local companies with global networks, attract international talent, and promote ethical AI development.