Reason First: New Jerseyans Cough on Police, Make State Look Bad

Coughing and spitting is already disgusting enough. When people do these natural bodily functions against cops it becomes particularly heinous...and criminal. Six defendants including David Haley, 52, 51-year-old Raymond Ricciardi, 25-year-old Marina Bishara-Rhone, 31-year-old Kenneth Wideman Jr., 35-year-old Vanessa Shaaraway, and 35-year-old Jennifer Burgess now face charges of fourth-degree aggravated assault against an officer and a second-degree charge for making terroristic threats during a time of a state of emergency.

These New Jerseyans have disrespected the letter of the law and deserve supreme justice. While people are dying from COVID-19 on a daily basis, it is important to know that police officers like other professionals who must come in contact with other individuals on a close basis ought to be protected from these people. For these six people to run afoul of the law shows just how nasty and unruly some persons can be.

It is in these times that respect for officers should be at its zenith. They are the ones who have increased their efforts to maintain peace and order among the savages in the streets. In New Jersey, it seems as if these defendants felt before they thought. Had they used reason instead of emotion first, then they would not have any charges against them. Instead, they chose to step outside the boundaries of rationality. What else could have driven them to be so nasty with the boys and girls in blue? Their feelings got the best of their judgement. What could’ve been routine encounters turned into nefarious national and global news.

New Jersey Attorney General Gurbir S. Grewal is as serious as the novel coronavirus itself when he sent a statement indicating that such behavior will not be tolerated. He has said that our “dedicated officers” ought to remind themselves that the legal system has them in mind. He is on the frontlines as well trying to protect officers from contracting the illness on his watch. He expects individuals to do what they can to aid in these efforts. He expects people to refrain from threatening or actually carrying out the notions of spreading COVID-19.

All of the cops in New Jersey should stand guard and be ready for anyone who violates the mandate set out by the Attorney General. Every citizen in New Jersey, especially but across the country and the world should be thoughtful, rational individuals who prize their own self-preservation. This does not mean avoiding possible charges but to reach goals that would improve life, not denigrate it. The defendants represent the lowlifes that reside in New Jersey. From La Cosa Nostra to Jersey Shore (2009-2012) to Cash, Murder, Drugs (Camden) to Brick City (Newark), the place is filled with suburban sprawl and urban decay. What these six brutes have displayed is the ugliness that emanates from that state. All that they had to do was cooperate with the officer(s). They make their state look like no one but monsters live there. And that’s not the case. There are well-meaning, upstanding individuals who proudly proclaim that they’re New Jerseyans.

From the perspective of a Delawarean who spent months in New Jersey just about adding up to a year or more, the sentiment can feel the same way about problematic Wilmington, Delaware. But so far, no person from Delaware has threatened or actually committed the crime of coughing or spitting on a police officer while shouting that they have the novel coronavirus.

What these miscreants in the Garden State failed to realize was the fact that the officers have families and friends. They never for a second stopped and thought about all of their well being. Their unselfish behavior has led them to these charges. And they deserve to be prosecuted to the full extent of the law.