Who is Donald Martin? Joe Budden’s lawyer slams Edgewater Police Chief over lewdness charge

Joe Budden, a well-known rapper and podcaster, was recently been charged with lewdness (a disorderly person's offense) in New Jersey. A press release about the charges started being circulated online after Donald Martin, the Edgewater Police Chief, released it on Monday, December 30.

In light of the press release, Nima Ameri, Budden's attorney, told TMZ that the podcaster was "saddened" by it on Tuesday, adding:

"Mr. Budden has been waiting weeks for his cross complaints to be processed which include substantially more serious charges including possible felony charges against the persons behind these charges against him."

Ameri continued:

"The Chief has in our opinion sat on those but instead used his time to gain some free publicity for himself. Chief Martin should seek publicity by doing notable policing not inflaming disorderly person allegations."

The incident that led to Joe Budden being charged with lewdness took place last month, on December 4, when a neighbor complained about seeing Budden naked in the hallway.

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Donald Martin has served as the Police Chief of the EPD for 8 years

Per a NorthJersey.com's November 2017 article, Donald Martin was sworn in as the Police Chief of the Edgewater Police Department in November 2017, after six months of the position being vacated. In May 2017, he was appointed as the Police Director.

It was a temporary position created by the borough to help the department transition to a new chief, facilitate a switch to a new work schedule, and cut down on the department’s persistently high overtime costs following the retirement of the former Police Chief, William Skidmore.

As Donald Martin took over the chief's position, the position of the police director was eliminated through a unanimous voting conducted in the borough. Martin's family attended the ceremony where he was sworn in, with Mayor Michael McPortland also present on the occasion. McPortland said about the new Police Chief:

"I couldn't think of a better guy to become police chief."

Meanwhile, Councilman Michael Henwood said that Martin would possibly be even better at the job than his father. Additionally, Martin's father, Donald Martin Sr. had served in the EPD for 41 years and was the Police Chief in 15 of those.

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Joe Budden's attorney called Martin's comment "reckless"

Joe Budden at the UnitedMasters SelectCon 2024 (Image via Getty)

Further in her statement to TMZ, Joe Budden's attorney also clarified that the charges placed against her client were minor and didn't even result in an arrest. Ameri continued to say that Budden was "looking forward" to beating the charge in court "on the merits, not in the press," adding:

"The Chief's comments are reckless, and in our opinion racially motivated. Our research has not shown a single press release on a disorderly person charge on the police website this year. His choice to single out Mr. Budden in our opinion is self motivated and based off of Mr. Budden’s race and celebrity status."

Meanwhile, Martin's press release also states that the charges that Joe Budden currently faces are "merely accusations" at this point, and the podcaster is innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

The resident, a neighbor of Budden's, allegedly saw the podcaster naked through the doorbell camera of his home, per the press release. In the footage retrieved from the device, Budden is allegedly captured attempting to enter a code into the neighbor's door lock, before eventually returning to his own apartment, which was across the hall.

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Joe Budden is yet to make any direct comment on the matter. The podcaster is scheduled to appear in court for a hearing on January 16, 2025.