I am not one to bash police. But I’m also not surprised that a Howell police officer wouldn’t let a couple rushing to the hospital with the wife in the critical stage of labor off the hook.Not because I have anything against the Howell police. In fact, I have met some and I’ve heard that as a whole the force is a group of really good guys.
The reason I am not surprised, though, is that some cops — just like some people in all walks of life — are real (moderated). Drunk on their power, thrilled to be intimidating and scary and armed. And while I have been a huge advocate of the police for many years, throwing my support behind them almost every time the topic of law-enforcement comes up here on the air, this is the kind of police officer that gives all of them a bad name.
Now, I don’t know Anthony Marotto. Maybe in some aspects of his life he’s a nice guy. But he certainly doesn’t have the common sense or decency to wield that much power in his community.
I’m not even going to call him an anti-Semite, although I know many of you are expecting me to. No, I think it goes deeper than that. I think it goes to the core of how some police officers are down deep inside. Either they were bullied as kids, their family lives were dysfunctional, or their souls are just empty. But I’ve met too many good ones to not understand that something like this is unconscionable.
It seems to me that this guy had a vendetta, and I’m not sure why. Maybe somebody in his family died that day. Maybe he had a fight with his wife that day. Perhaps he had one of HIS family members hassled on the side of the road when THEY were in a dire emergency. (Although I doubt that.)
No — it’s worse than being anti-Semitic. It’s just being a mean and vindictive person. And vindictiveness is just about one of the worst traits you can have when you are charged with the responsibility of serving and protecting and carrying a gun.
Do I (or should you) wish bad things on Officer Marotto? No, but I can’t help wondering why, unlike the good guys out there, he couldn’t take this couple’s particular situation into account when he made his decision to leave them sitting there waiting for their summons.
I can’t help thinking that perhaps he wanted them to be punished for some reason. Is a man whose wife is in the last stages of labor above the law? No. But it certainly makes you understand why many people hold resentment and anger toward police officers like Officer Marotto.
Wouldn’t it be horrible if one day Anthony Marotto had his wife, or his daughter, or his sister in the critical stages of labor with all of the anxiety, pain and fear associated with it, be stopped and held by a police officer with absolutely no compassion for her plight? Oh, wait … that will never happen because Anthony and his family probably have a get-out-of-jail-free card because their relative is a cop.
The Howell police, in remarking on the incident, said that the officer was “respectful”. I beg to differ. We are all human beings. Respect requires acknowledgement of this. Respect for other humans involves discretion, compassion for and thoughtfulness of others. And even though it seems that Anthony Marotto felt the need to treat this couple like criminals, our justice system even provides for a certain level of respect for criminals.
So, here is a message for the many police officers out there who don’t understand why the public shows disdain for and/or resentment toward them. Take a lesson from this situation: The public whom you are paid to serve and protect deserve respect. And Officer Anthony Marotto has a lot to learn about respect.
[Republished with permission from 101.5]
Nothing more to be said after this great article!! nailed it Judy Franco
Can someone email or fax a copy to Howell PD.
No need. You can be sure they are checking TLS every 5 min.
Very well written! Thank you!
Great article. Couldn’t have been worded better!
Couldn’t have said it better!!!!!!!
Who is she?
She is an intelligent, articulate radio personality who does the 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. slot (with her equally intelligent and articulate partner, Dennis Malloy) on FM 101.5 – who just happens to be Jewish.
Thanks
Right on! It might be time for this cop to just apologize and say he was guilty of some bad judgment.
The cops and local gvm’t officials always say that they don’t hand out tickets to raise funds for the gvm’t. They do it only to teach us to be safe drivers. What kind of lesson was this ticket meant to teach?
couldn’t agree more
Very well written.
Very well written!! All we ask is to be treated with respect and that’s totally lacking by the Howell Police.
This would never ever happen to Anthony Marato wife or Daughter because even if she was not pregnant and was going 90 MPH she would just Pull out her PBA Card and say my Husband Brother or Father is a Howell cop and they would just send her on her way with a smile no Ticket or even Warning
She makes a great point! Respect goes beyond speaking in a professional tone of voice. It means that i value the life of your unborn child. What good is a pleasent demeanor if at the same time your sending a message that your life is worthless.
I couldn’t have said it better. Very well said.
Thank you Judy!
I would expect the state of Federal government to evaluate each prospective officer befour they go on the job if they are mentally stable. Obviously this fellow is not. He has a real problem.
Just a thought…he could have had the couple follow him to the hospital with his siren on and presented them with a ticket once there.(if the ticket was so important to him)..he would have been hailed as a good samaritan with a big heart. He didn’t sound nasty, arrogant or demeaning but he could have shown more concern to the pregnant woman and unborn baby! B”H all turned out well for all and we must focus on that! Hopefully, this is a lesson to cops! Having a good heart and soul never hurt anyone!!!!
Perhaps being part of the solution would work. How about some frum men step up to the plate and become real LE? There are far too few, on a statewide basis.
I disagree with her.
This cop probably has no wife/ kids. Due to the limited family sizes today, many people have no experience with pregnancy, labor, childbirth and child rearing. (That’s why half these cops are ready to call DYFS if they see a mother sterilizing her baby’s pacifier for less than 15 minutes) He has plenty of respect – would probably stand half a day holding the door for a woman in any store BUT he is absolutely CLUELESS on what a medical emergency is, how time can be of the essence (don’t forget many people today schedule their deliverers at a time convenient to them so they can conveniently have their one convenient boy and girl +family dog) and the importance of a human life.
My problem is with the horrible attitude of the official Howell Police statement stating it is ok from a government perspective to officially delay a medical emergency and put human life at risk to raise revenue for your town.
A clear statement to the higher ups must be made! ABSOLUTELY UNACCEPTABLE!!!
I would higher a lawyer and sue Howell township for 5million so that this wouldn’t happen again . You are very fortunate that nothing happened and iwith today’s lawyer you should have no problem suing!
@susan
The word is ‘hire’ a lawyer
I’m just glad it wasn’t MY kids in this situation – my girls don’t have a minute to spare, and they barely make it to the hospital; some have even not made it all the way there. Does the police force not know of these types of cases? Perhaps they need some further education about the urgent nature of advanced labor. If their role is to serve and protect life, then that begins from the youngest, earliest lives, and it behooves the police officers to understand when to issue tickets, and when to provide escorts.
To Amil Zoa: What does real LE mean?
Law Enforcement
If this was a story about one cop, then we can write it all off that it was a rotten apple. But now that the Howell Police Department issued a statement defending this officer, this changes the whole dynamics!! They really stepped in it!!
Interest how drastically different the tone in the comments here are – than on 101.5 Facebook post.
100% correct! Well written
No one lays it down as clear and straightforward in all of NJ like Judy! We love it that we have you on our team!
Very well written. Thank you Judy & keep up your great work!
Well written, I hope they take to heart, sometimes when I drive through howell(and Jackson) I get this sense almost as if they are playing a game and silently say to themselves “How many Jews can we catch today”
Just how I feel, that its not really about keeping the roads safe rather how much revenue can we rake in .
(Eventhough they try to convince us how its for our benefit)
Can’t cops ever just once give a fellow human being a break? Especially one in need of medical attention?
Check out this post on NJ.com; Video: N.J. State Police lead luxury cars down Parkway at high speeds.
For the police, it is fine. However for a pregnant woman it is not fine. They have double standards
It is not just Pregnant Woman the Howell police department acts on a “Gotcha” Mentality