NJ attorney general: Change law, prosecute cop-killing children as adults

🔴 A 14-year-old was charged with killing a Newark police officer

🔴 He can never be tried as an adult

🔴 Attorney General Matt Platkin supports a change for 'extreme situations'

New Jersey's liberal attorney general supports changing the state's age restriction on trying teens 14 and under as adults.

During an unrelated event on Thursday, Attorney General Matt Platkin was asked if the law should be changed in the case of "extreme situations."

"I think anyone who attacks and kills a police officer should be tried as an adult. Period. And I would support a change in the law that would allow that," Platkin said.

Cop-killing teen is protected

Under current law, a juvenile age 14 and under cannot, under any circumstances, be waived up to Superior Court to face justice as an adult.

The issue is on the minds of many after a 14-year-old was arrested in the shooting death of Newark police Sgt. Joseph Azcona. He was charged as a juvenile with murder, attempted murder and possession of illegal weapons.

Under current law, the teen's identity will be protected, and legal proceedings in Family Court will be kept out of public view.

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Officer's mother starts a petition

The New Jersey Fraternal Order of Police would like to see that change.

"There needs to be checks and balances in the juvenile justice system, allowing for a review of a juvenile's record by a judge or prosecutor, before deciding if that suspect is charged as an adult or not," the union said on their Facebook page.

Azcona's mother has started an online petition seeking a change to state juvenile law.

"This has left our family in a perplexed and painful position. We firmly believe that the gravity of the crime committed should be the determining factor of the proceeding, not the age of the offender," Nerrida Vargas wrote with the petition. "Plead with us for a legal reform that ensures justice for every victim."

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