Earlier today we had a conversation with Pat Colligan, the President of the NJSPBA.  He was going through Facebook over the weekend and stumbled on a post with a picture of medical gloves in a vending machine.

Turned out the sheriff's office was charging corrections officers for the use of the gloves.  According to the post, $1 for two pair.  This is a problem at several levels.

First, as Pat pointed out, it's a violation of the law that allows for safety equipment to be provided to officers.  Can you imagine a corrections officer having to search a suspect or inmate and not having enough for the vending machine?  Other than the ridiculous nature of the story, it begs the question, why is the state paying so much for gloves in the first place?

According to Pat the state is paying $12 for a box of 100.  We had a caller during the show today that provided us with a vendor who sells the gloves for $2-$4 per one hundred.  Is this another example of government waste that falls on the backs of middle and working class New Jersey taxpayers?

The good news is that the gloves have been removed from the machine and things seem to be back to normal.  I'm sure that's in no small part due to the loud objections from our friend Pat Colligan. Way to go Pat.  Appreciate how you stand up for your members and law enforcement in general across the Garden State

The next step is to find a legislator who wants to look into whether cops are being overcharged for critical safety products. And, who's the government employee who thought it was a good idea to put the gloves in the vending machine in the first place?

More from New Jersey 101.5:

More From New Jersey 101.5 FM