NJ law shields pot & booze kids
Gaga's shot dog walker recalls pup's devotion
Governor Murphy signed a law that PROHIBITS police officers from telling parents that their children are in possession of marijuana. AND
THE POLICE FACE CHARGES IF THEY
TELL THE PARENTS.
New Jersey minors caught with weed or booze won’t have to worry about getting grounded by Mom and Dad — as a new law legalizing marijuana bars police from telling parents if their kids were caught, and apparently extends to alcohol.
Gov. Phil Murphy signed a package of bills on Feb. 22 after a three-year legislative push to pave the way for a legal marketplace for marijuana in the state.
The decriminalization allows people to carry up to six ounces of pot but also limits how law enforcement can interact with anyone under the nowlegal age of 21 when it comes to suspicion of using marijuana.
That three-step process for dealing with anyone under 18, which stops cops from alerting parents of their kids’ pot bust until their second offense, has faced criticism in recent days from a few police chiefs and lawmakers.
“To apply these new laws to a ‘reallife’ situation, if an officer observes a 12-year-old — or a juvenile of any age — consuming alcohol and/or smoking marijuana in violation of the law, that officer CANNOT contact the juvenile’s parent or guardian — unless this behavior has been previously documented,” Westfield Police Chief Christopher Battiloro wrote in a statement.
Battiloro, a father of three, said of his kids, “While I trust them immensely, they are, no doubt, in the most formative — and vulnerable — years of their lives.”
He added, “I fully believe that we parents and guardians fully deserve — and more importantly — have a right to know when our children are involved in dangerous situations.”
Point Pleasant Police Chief
Assemblyman Jon Bramnick (right)
Joseph Michigan echoed those concerns in a nearly identical statement.
“We see these laws as not only counterproductive but also as a detriment to the safety of our children,” he wrote. “Reviewing the new policy, what presents itself as most problematic is the inability to freely communicate with parents.”
The highest-ranking Republican in the New Jersey Assembly, Jon Bramnick, said last week the move was “almost impossible to believe.”
“Law enforcement around the State is shocked that Governor Murphy signed a law that PROHIBITS police officers from telling parents that their children are in possession of marijuana. AND THE POLICE FACE CHARGES IF THEY TELL THE PARENTS,” he wrote.
The New Jersey State Association of Chiefs of Police, which has said it supported the move to decriminalize weed due to the disproportionate effect criminalization had on black people in the state, also spoke out about the under-21 provisions.
“Under this new law, a law-enforcement officer is subject to criminal prosecution if he or she even asks a minor or young adult under the age of 21 to consent to a search or otherwise conducts such a search despite reasonable suspicious activity, such as the odor of alcohol or marijuana,” the association wrote.
“An honest mistake in ascertaining someone’s age, intentions or degree of impairment subjects the officer to prosecution for a crime.”
Lady Gaga’s dog walker, who was shot last week while out with the pop star’s three French bulldogs in Los Angeles, wrote an emotional Instagram post on Monday describing the ambush by dognappers and thanking the singer for her support.
“4 days ago, while a car sped away and blood poured from my gun shot wound, an angel trotted over and laid next to me,” Ryan Fischer, 39, wrote, referring to Gaga’s pooch Miss Asia, who escaped the dognapping. “My panicked screams calmed as I looked at her, even though it registered that the blood pooling around her tiny body was my own.
“I cradled Asia as best I could, thanked her for all the incredible adventures we’d been on together, apologized that I couldn’t defend her brothers, and then resolved that I would still try to save them . . . and myself.”
Fischer, who said he was still recovering from his “very close call with death,” shared two photos of himself in a hospital bed, including one of him with a breathing tube.
The Ohio native was attacked by two men on Wednesday in West Hollywood while walking Gaga’s Frenchies, Gustav, Koji and Miss Asia.
Video shows the men roll up in a sedan and accost Fischer
before shooting him and grabbing Gustav and Koji. As Fischer wails in agony on the ground, Miss Asia runs to his side.
“I looked backed at my guardian angel. I smiled at her shaking form, thankful that at least she would be okay,” Fischer recalled in Monday’s post, adding that bystanders came to his aid. Gustav and Koji were returned unharmed on Friday after reportedly being found tied to pole miles away. Fischer expressed thanks to family and friends and the public, as well as police and health-care workers.
“The gratitude for all the love I feel from around this planet is immense and intense. I felt your healing support! Thank you,” he wrote.
Fischer concluded with a message for Gaga, who has been in Italy.
“your babies are back and the family is whole . . . we did it! You have shown so much support throughout this whole crisis to both me and my family. But your support as a friend, despite your own traumatic loss from your kids, was unwavering. I love you and thank you,” he wrote.
“And now? A lot of healing still needs to happen, but I look forward to the future and the moment when I get bombarded with kisses and licks (and maybe even an excitement pee?) from Asia, Koji, and Gustav.”