There is no doubt that the New Jersey Attorney General Matt Platkin is willing to use the power of his office to push his radical political agenda.

Yes, Platkin is the same AG who sued school districts to force them to implement the egregious anti-parent, anti-teacher and anti-student Policy 5756.

Edwin J. Torres/Governer's Office
Edwin J. Torres/Governor's Office
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In his latest assault on common sense, the AG is pushing a prosecution of a Mantua, New Jersey police officer. Officer Sal Oldrati responded to a call of an armed burglar.

First on the scene was police officer Layton who upon encountering an armed man pointing a gun at him, he was able to get cover and demand the man put the gun down. Refusing that lawful order resulted in Officer Oldrati shooting the man and ending the threat.

I spoke to his lawyer this week and he explained a few facts in the case that seem to be ignored by the AG.

First of all, according to the defense, the dispatcher never advised the officers that the caller to 911 claimed he was armed and may be heading outside to confront the burglar.

Second, the AG's complaint paints a picture of an overly aggressive cop shooting a homeowner within seconds of arrival. This ignores the fact that the perp was warned and did not drop the gun. The gun turned out to be a replica and no evidence of a burglar turned up.

From my perspective, and from the original assessment of the situation, Officer Sal Oldrati was completely justified in taking down the man.

Mantua police officer Sal Oldrati June 2018 (via Facebook)
Mantua police officer Sal Oldrati June 2018 (via Facebook)
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Police officers have a unique job in our society. They have the only job where in a matter of seconds they may have to make a decision to take a life.

Some politicians dismiss the job of police officers, saying that there are more dangerous jobs. But we know that measuring the commitment to our society from police officers can't just be measured with the statistic of deaths per 100,000 workers.

That doesn't take into account the 50,000 plus assaults officers endure every year nor does it account for the responsibility of using deadly force when necessary.

We were joined on the show for my final Blue Friday broadcast by Officer Sal Oldrati's mom, Barbara.

Join me in calling for justice for Officer Salvatore Oldrati. You can also help out by going to his GiveSendGo.

Exonerate him now.

How N.J. voted in the 2024 presidential election

Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris won New Jersey's 14 Electoral College votes but her performance against Republican former President Donald Trump trailed President Biden's victory in 2020. Below is a county-by-county breakdown.

Gallery Credit: New Jersey 101.5

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

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