Hate your lousy NJ job? At least no one is biting you (Opinion)

Maybe you work long hours or for low pay with limited opportunity for a raise or for a boss who is a passive/aggressive nightmare. Maybe all of the above. We’ve all been there.

But try to look at it through a different lens. At least you don’t go to work every day thinking there’s a good chance of someone biting you. Or wanting to stab you. Or shoot you.

Marquis Belnavis, 29, just pleaded guilty this past week to biting (yes, biting) a Toms River police officer. It happened back in July 2021 when a scuffle ensued as police were trying to take him into custody. He was under surveillance for suspicion of drug dealing when police made a traffic stop. He attempted to flee and that’s when one of the officers received a bite to their hand.

Belnavis could receive seven years in prison for his misdeeds which, according to the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office, include heroin possession with intent to distribute and cocaine distribution.

When you’re having a bad day on the job, try to remember that every penny you’re working for would likely be taken from you if no one was willing to be part of that thin blue line of law enforcement. You’ve seen what’s happened in the past few years. Good cops getting lumped together with the occasional bad. Little respect. Little thanks.

All the while they go to work every single day knowing there are those who would want nothing more than to hurt them. We can all complain about our jobs. Let’s try to remember it’s nothing compared to the potentially worst day of any officer’s career.

Opinions expressed in the post above are those of New Jersey 101.5 talk show host Jeff Deminski only.

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