On Wednesday night, the Seaside Heights borough council passed a resolution calling on Governor Murphy and State Lawmakers to repeal Senate Bill #3454, that prohibits police and parent interaction on a first offense and the section that would charge police officers with a 3rd Degree Crime for Civil Rights Depravation.
"The public is entitled to pass the law and okay, they passed it but now when they write the bill, they made it so hard for police officers to do their job. I mean, in terms of the safety of the public, they weren't thinking," Seaside Heights Mayor Tony Vaz tells Townsquare Media News. "This bill has to be repealed, we're not only going to have problems in Seaside Heights but every Shore community is going to have problems."
The new law also ties together underage alcohol rules which is another cause for concern for Mayor Vaz and many parents who would want to know if their underage son or daughter is in trouble.
Even if someone is walking down the street smoking marijuana, police no longer have probable cause to stop and question them.
"How about if the kid is 17, we can't stop them unless they're driving, but if they're walking, we can't do anything about it. The cops hands are tied, and now he or she gets in a car because we couldn't stop them when they were walking and they get into an accident and kill somebody," Mayor Vaz said. "They've got to live with that for the rest of their lives."