Petition urges Gov. Christie to pardon an aspiring police officer
Please consider signing this petition that urges Gov. Christie to pardon Steffan Josey-Davis, an aspiring police officer who was convicted for having his legally owned firearm in his glove box while driving.
On September 20th, 2013, I was planning to go to the gun range with a friend, and was in the garage checking my firearm when my 6-year-old sister walked in and surprised me. I have always tried to keep my firearm away from my younger siblings as to not spark their curiosity, so I quickly shoved it into my glove compartment before picking her up and taking her back inside the house.
Later that day, having been distracted by a chain of events, I got in my car, with my gun still in my glove compartment. I was pulled over shortly after for a routine traffic stop. Immediately I realized my mistake; in NJ a loaded weapon must be carried in a locked trunk. I alerted the officers that I had a weapon in the car. They confiscated and told me I would be able to pick it up later that week, and I thought that was the end of it.
When I arrived at the police department, I was informed that I had been charged with weapons possession, a second-degree felony. Instantly my life changed. I was facing a ten year prison sentence for trying to keep a firearm away from a child. I was horrified by the thought of spending ten years in prison, away from my family, my girlfriend and the dreams that I hoped to one day achieve, so on my lawyer’s recommendation I took a plea of one year probation.
But I am still a convicted felon. Now I can't vote, am disqualified from most jobs, and my future has been derailed. I am a law abiding citizen, with hopes of one day becoming a law enforcement officer myself. Yet, because of my felony conviction I may never be able to become the person I had wanted to be.
This case is very similar to the Shaneen Allen case that stirred up controversy over the Summer. Josey-Davis hopes that the petition will succeed in helping him get his future back on track.
You can sign the petition by clicking here.
Listen to the interview with Steffon Josey-Davis in the YouTube clip below.
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