Outrage over NJ cop pepper spraying teen (Opinion)

In Camden County a police officer has been charged with a crime. From the looks of this video it ought to be a slam dunk.

Woodlynne Police Officer Ryan Dubiel is facing simple assault charges for using pepper spray on a teenage boy who at the time was sitting down and showing no aggression with his hands in plain view.

Reaction has been swift. Woodlynne Mayor Joseph Chukwueke describes the cop’s actions as “unprovoked.” NJ State Attorney General Gurbir Grewal weighed in saying it was an, “appalling and completely unjustified use of force.”

Judge for yourself. Here’s the video placed on YouTube by Robert Baum.

I can’t see any reason how this was justified. What threat was happening here? If there’s more to this case than meets the eye we’d all love to know because my eye is pretty convinced this was utterly uncalled for. Two counts of simple assault have been filed against the officer.

Something else potentially worth looking into. Why did this 31 year old officer work for 9 police departments already? Could be totally innocent but it makes you wonder. With Grewal’s call for licensing cops to make it harder for bad ones to just keep switching jobs and towns this guy’s use of force record needs to be examined.

It’s been reported Dubiel has previously been placed on administrative after a shooting incident in December. He’s been suspended without pay after this pepper spray incident.

I’ve said it before. Good cops need to start speaking up against these bad ones. This blue brotherhood can only go so far. Look where that loyalty has gotten us as a society with good police unfairly losing trust along with the bad ones. A good cop who does nothing about a bad cop is a bad cop.

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