Gas-tax repealers pass Black-Lives Matter bill
Sussex County WatchdogLast week, the New Jersey Senate passed legislation that will throw EVERY police officer who has to make the decision to use deadly force in front of a state-appointed special prosecutor. Under this legislation, a police officer who arrives at a school shooting incident in the nick of time and uses his firearm to stop a would-be mass murderer of children will be presumed to have done something wrong and then tossed in front of a persecutory special prosecutor.
This legislation -- S2469 -- could not become law without the support of two Republicans, Jennifer Beck and Gerald Cardinale. Without their votes, the bill would not have passed the Senate.
The premise behind this legislation is that county prosecutors -- just by existing within the borders of a particular county -- have too close a relationship with the police officers of that county and therefore cannot objectively investigate an incident when a police officer makes a mistake or oversteps his or her authority.
While this might be argued for states that elect their prosecutors, such as Pennsylvania, where police unions are active in that political process; in New Jersey all prosecutors are appointed by the same person -- the Governor. So whether you are a county prosecutor, appointed by the Governor, or the Attorney General, also appointed by the Governor, you do not run for election and there is no potential for that kind of conflict.
If a county prosecutor is too conflicted to investigate a matter within his jurisdiction simply because he or she lives and works there, then the whole idea of county prosecutors needs to be scrapped and replaced with something like the United Kingdom's Crown Prosecution Service, where attorneys are appointed to prosecute on a case-by-case basis. But the idea of dragging a police officer in front of a special prosecutor, simply because that officer did precisely what he or she was supposed to do in a deadly situation, is preposterous.
All this legislation will do is to create a species of state prosecutor whose worth will be determined by the number of police officers' scalps collected and careers destroyed. It will deteriorate the quality of police organizations and with that, the safety of every community in New Jersey.
The Assembly might consider a "sensitivity training" amendment for special prosecutor designees. It would include eight weeks of putting on a police officer's uniform, strapping on a sidearm, and engaging in day-to-day police work like traffic stops and domestic calls. Call it prosecutors' boot camp.
Just why two Republican Senators -- Beck and Cardinale -- would cross party lines to vote for this misguided legislation is open to question. We suggest that it is because they find the contemplation of labor unions and working people disagreeable. Senator Beck is a career politician and lobbyist, while Senator Cardinale is a politician with a profession, as well as the owner of a luxury property in the Caribbean.
According to a press release put out by the ACLU, Beck and Cardinale casts their votes on behalf of that organization as well as Black Lives Matter Morristown, Black Lives Matter Paterson, Black Lives Matter New Jersey, the Drug Policy Alliance, Garden State Equality, New Jersey Citizen Action, and the New Jersey Policy Perspective. Beck and Cardinale stood with the far-left to screw working police officers and their families.
Reader Comments (5)
For an organization that calls themselves "Government Watchdogs", I can't understand why there is an issue with having an investigation outside of the county the Police Officer used deadly force in. As "Watchdogs" wouldn't brutality to the citizens be what you are "watching" for? An investigation outside of the county the can only make sure that the investigation is done in a thorough, fair and impartial manner. If the investigation stays within the county the incident happend, it is very likely the investigators will personally know the police officer involved. That would be where the issue of "they investigated themselves and found they did nothing wrong" comes in to play. According to Attorney General Law Enforcement Directive No 2006-5, dated 12/13/06, the AG ALREADY has the power to supercede the county if deemed necessary.
You said "the New Jersey Senate passed legislation that will throw EVERY police officer who has to make the decision to use deadly force in front of a state-appointed special prosecutor." And what is wrong with that?? If a police officer has to appear at traffic court when they write a ticket, why would they not have to show up if they saw a reason to use deadly force and kill someone?!! If they are justified in using deadly force, shouldn't they not have anything to worry about?
You also went on to say "But the idea of dragging a police officer in front of a special prosecutor, simply because that officer did precisely what he or she was supposed to do in a deadly situation, is preposterous." Isn't that exactly what should be investigated? That they did what they were supposed to do in that situation?
What happened, here in NJ, to Marcus Jeter, is reason enough to why deadly force by a police officer needs to be investigated beyond the county it happened. An internal investigation showed the officers did nothing wrong, had that dashcam video not surfaced, Mr. Jeter most definitely would be going to jail and the police officers would still be on the force. God forbid they had killed this man, who would have investigated further and been his voice? Here is a link to the article: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/crime/police-dash-cam-video-exonerates-nj-man-implicates-cops-article-1.1701763.
You assume "brutality". This bill takes every case and puts it before a special prosecutor. If a police officer shoots a terrorist it goes before the special prosecutor. If a police officer shoots someone randomly killing school children, it goes before the special prosecutor. The term "special" prosecutor indicates that it should be used in special circumstances, not as a matter of course. It will also create a "species of state prosecutor whose worth will be determined by the number of police officers' scalps collected and careers destroyed."
A special prosecutor is warranted if a potential conflict can be shown, but not as a matter of course. Otherwise, scrap the whole county prosecutor system.
No, I assume the possibility for brutality is there, and it would be naive to believe otherwise. Any time a citizens life is taken, by the hands of a government worker, it should be considered a "special" case and should be investigated by a "special" state prosecutor, regardless of the circumstances. A police officer should be able to justify why he/she used deadly force and saw the need to take the life of a citizen.
It's assumed it will "create a species of state prosecutor whose worth will be determined by the number of police officers' scalps collected and careers destroyed". So, you are willing to question the judgment and motives of a state prosecutor, but NOT willing to question the judgement and motives of a police officer that used deadly force and killed an individual? Umm.ok.
According to an article on NJ. Com, dated 6/4/2015, the Sussex County First Assistant Prosecutor Greg Mueller is quoted as saying "he's been with the prosecutor's office for 10 years, and there hasn't been a police-involved shooting in that time. He said he believes the county has gone considerably longer without one." As far as I'm concerned, a situation that occurs so infrequently is a special situation. It's safe to say that the large majority of police officers in Sussex County will never, in their career, have to go before a "special" prosecutor. So, why would we even consider "scrapping the whole county prosecutor system" for a situation that happens once a decade, if that?
What exactly is your organization watching out for, if the death of one of our citizens, in your eyes, isn't worthy of a "special" investigation?
"Any time a citizens life is taken, by the hands of a government worker, it should be considered a "special" case and should be investigated by a "special" state prosecutor, regardless of the circumstances."
In 2013, the U.S. Justice Department confirmed that four U.S. citizens, including cleric Anwar al-Awlaki, had been killed by CIA drone strikes since 2009. Where was the special prosecutor in these cases? Why is it only the blue-collar, working class police officer who is the subject of a special prosecutor but never a member of the establishment elite?
And why stop at American citizens. Are the citizens of foreign nation not human beings as well? You said, "regardless of circumstances."
"Umm.ok." Save the snark. It is not a question of motivation but of focus. If your only job is to hang cops, then you be judged on that ALONE, and you will respond to the extra-judicial public pressure to hang them.
Serial killers occur "infrequently", do they need a special prosecutor? Again, unless a specific conflict can be demonstrated, a county prosecutor should be able to handle it. To assume a conflict is to make the justice system a slave to ideological propaganda instead of truth. Next we will assume an automatic bias simply because prosecutors come from a specific ethnic group with a history of police employment.
"Save the snark" says the editor who started his last article off by saying "Senator Tom Kean Jr.'s plan ...totally crapped the bed"! Ha!!
Without a doubt "special prosecutors" should have been used when CIA drone strikes killed US citizens. And, we most definitely should not stop at American citizens, either! As far as serial killers, last I checked they never took an oath to protect and serve the people they kill.
Just observing these presidential elections shows how corrupt our government actually is. Knowing that the whole system is flawed, from the top to the bottom, is even more of a reason to have total and complete transparency when it come to the investigation, of any person, citizen or not, that has died at the hands of a government worker. It has also become apparent that the police and military are unfortunately not immune to corruption themselves. The police are extremely reluctant to cross that thin blue line and weed out any "bad apples" that are changing their image as a whole. Having said that, if the accountability doesn't start with our local and state government agencies, how can we expect it to happen in DC?
Your slogan, at the top of every article you write is "Sussex County Watchdog. Keeping Our Eye on Local Government". That is obviously far from the truth if you are not willing to watch EVERY government agency. Why, in your mind, do the police get a pass and not need to be "watched"? And, the way that you are constantly fawning over Oroho shows that you are extremely biased. Perhaps you should consider renaming your page, it's very misleading. If not, maybe you should put a disclaimer that you are not willing to "watch" all government agencies...only a select few.