It should be no surprise that in New Jersey you can get pulled over and ticketed for tint on your front windows or windshield, a decorative or dealership provided frame around your license plate, decals on your windshield, or even a “Black Ice” Little Trees air freshener hanging from your rear view mirror.
But it’s not often we have the opportunity to see the frustration a motorist feels for being ticketed for such an “offense.”
We the People University YouTube channel hosted by Abiyah Israel (a former police officer and sheriff deputy) highlights this video where a black motorist is pulled over by a white officer, apparently for not using his turn signal. When the motorist tells the officer that the motorist saw the police car and was extra careful to obey all laws including proper use of turn signals, the officer abandons the turn signal claim and pivots to an obstructed windshield violation, which importantly was not the predicate for the traffic stop in the first place.
Is this an example of racism? There is nothing in the video that indicates that. Was this a money grab for Wall Township? Apparently so.
The real question is, how does a stop like this promote the interest of the public or further public safety? The answer is clear, it doesn’t.