There are two different ways to lead, Save Jerseyans:
Serving the cause of justice (Option A) or expecting justice to serve your own selfish political ends (Option B).
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Let’s examine the recent incident at the Bridgewater Commons mall.
We’ve been down this road a thousand times, Save Jerseyans. A video goes viral on social media. It looks bad; it almost always does without context. Politicians, talking heads, and the digital herd opine and see whatever reinforces their own respective worldview. Sometimes? The resulting investigation actually comports with first impressions and the officers are justly disciplined or even tried in a court of law. But sometimes the investigation undercuts those initial hot takes, and an innocent public servant is raked over the coals without cause.
Governor Phil Murphy decided to go with Option B in Bridgewater. He alway does.
“Although an investigation is still gathering the facts about this incident, I’m deeply disturbed by what appears to be racially disparate treatment in this video. We’re committed to increasing trust between law enforcement and the people they serve,” Murphy declared on Tuesday. And while an investigation by the Somerset Prosecutor’s office may ultimately confirm Murphy’s impression of the video involving Bridgewater police and a small group of teens, it’s deeply troubling and dangerous when a public official decides to take on the role of judge and jury.
The George Floyd case is an example where the weight of evidence ultimately came down against the officer and that now former cop is justly (in my opinion, and that of a court of law) is rotting in jail. In the case of Kyle Rittenhouse? A very, very different story. In both cases, the Media and the Democrat establishment of which Governor Murphy is a proud member condemned the defendants before we had anything other than a video to go off of.
Meanwhile, Bridgewater Mayor Matt Moench – a rising star in state GOP politics – took the Option A route.
“It is not appropriate for me or any other Township official to comment any further on the details of this incident while an investigation is ongoing, except to say that I am completely confident that the Prosecutor’s review will be impartial, objective and thorough,” said Moench in his own statement, adding that he wanted to “thank the public for its patience in refraining from jumping to conclusions while an investigation is pending.”
“I also want to thank the brave men and women of the Bridgewater Police Department for their continued service, and for keeping our public safe in today’s challenging environment,” Moench continued.
That’s real leadership, folks. It’s not Phil’s job or Matt’s job to try the case.
There are enough jackasses out there trying to inflame our passions for their own selfish and/or hyper-partisan ends.
What we need more of: leaders like Matt who champion perspective, remain impartial, support the justice system (which, while not perfect, is still the best in the world), and advocate for equality of all parties under the law. Feeding digital lynch mobs is no way to govern, and it’s a guarantee of greater division and discord in our society. Again, this isn’t a thought experiment. Recent history is all the proof you should need that Mayor Moench’s approach is the right one.
