New Jersey should follow Newark's lead... on this

Even if you are a law-abiding citizen with a squeaky-clean lifestyle, you or someone you know has probably been arrested in New Jersey. Many times, people are issued summonses, mostly for traffic violations or other minor offenses and for some reason, didn't get the message. You missed a court date, you didn't know about and then you get pulled over or get a knock on the door and you get "cuffed and stuffed" into the back of a police car.

It's happened so many times in New Jersey, it's ridiculous, embarrassing, humiliating and outrageous. Well now the city of Newark has announced they will not be arresting people with minor bench warrants for offenses under $500, excluding domestic violence charges.

This comes in the wake of the police shooting of Duante Wright earlier this month in Minnesota. Wright was pulled over for a registration violation but had an outstanding warrant for a weapons charge.

So, it's good enough for urban areas like Newark, but not the rest of the state.

In more crowded urban areas, you might have more people around with cell phone cameras capturing whatever happens next. In suburban New Jersey, what usually happens next is nothing but a humiliating trip to the police station. What happens in places like Newark, is anybody's guess and it might turn ugly. Why shouldn't the rest of New Jersey's citizens be afforded the same courtesy that people in Newark are given?

We talked to plenty of our listeners on our show Tuesday who got arrested for things like not licensing a dog to selling a car that the new owner neglected to register. Shouldn't they have the courtesy of not being sent to jail for something as minor as that?

I guess we'll all have to move to Newark to get equal treatment under the law.

Yes, it's not you, this country and this state are spinning out of control. Please make it stop, we're all getting very dizzy.

The post above reflects the thoughts and observations of New Jersey 101.5 talk show host Dennis Malloy. Any opinions expressed are Dennis's own.

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