It appears the Manor Section of Kearny may be the target of unscrupulous criminals who have a pretty firm grasp of the law. And it’s no longer a matter of things getting out of control — we’re already there and the hands of police officer are firmly tied thanks to the absurd guidelines being issued from the NJ Office of the Attorney General.
Here’s why say all this.
After 3 a.m., Thursday, June 6, Sgt. Mike Andrews was patrolling the Manor Section.
Unfortunately, police tell us this area has recently been subjected to burglaries and other criminal activity, including a recent attempted burglary where a family slept as burglars ransacked their home. Lovely isn’t it?
Now, Sgt. Andrews came across a vehicle being operated suspiciously, with the occupants hooded. Of course, given the temperatures were in the 70s, hoodies weren’t needed — unless, of course, they were being worn for untoward reasons — and they were, it appears.
Sgt. Andrews then decided to surveil the vehicle; however, upon noticing police, the vehicle took off at breakneck speeds, dangerously blasting through the residential neighborhood. Sgt. Andrews, suspecting criminal activity, may have been afoot prior to his interdiction, so he attempted to catch up to the vehicle.
The suspects, likely unfamiliar with the area, having probably never been here before, turned onto a dead-end street, leaving them no room to escape. As Sgt. Andrews turned down the same dead end street, he turned on his overhead lights and ordered them suspicious folks to stop.
But not to worry — most criminals are now keenly aware of the Attorney General’s guidelines on motor vehicle pursuits, which effectively allow criminals to simply drive away when ordered by police to stop. (See what we meant earlier now?)
So then Sgt. Andrews positioned his vehicle so as to block in the suspicious vehicle, but they quickly found an apparently ideal solution — the suspects simply rammed the police car out of the way, damaging both vehicles — and drove away.
Why stop, since a pursuit was not authorized by the restrictive guidelines?
So, the suspects were allowed to blissfully go on about their days, without repercussions of any sort — for now, at least.
During a subsequent investigation, it was discovered the suspects were operating a stolen vehicle (the one they rammed into a police car) and, before police interaction, they had been attempting to burglarize a home in the Manor by forcing entry through a home’s windows while the family slept inside. (Note: had any of this information been known to the police at the time of this interaction, the pursuit might not have been called off.)
Video revealed one of the three suspects was in possession of a crow bar. Two windows were found to be damaged, but luckily, the family was spared since no one was able to gain entry to the home.
We’re told Andrews was fortunately (somehow) not injured in the fracas.
Detectives continue to investigate.
Learn more about the writer ...
Kevin A. Canessa Jr. is the editor of and broadcaster at The Observer, an organization he has served since 2006. He is responsible for the editorial content of the newspaper and website, the production of the e-Newspaper, writing several stories per week (including the weekly editorial), conducting live broadcasts on social media channels such as YouTube, Facebook, and X, including a weekly recap of the news — and much more behind the scenes. Between 2006 and 2008, he introduced the newspaper to its first-ever blog — which included podcasts, audio and video. Originally from Jersey City, Kevin lived in Kearny until 2004, lived in Port St. Lucie. Florida, for four years until February 2016 and in March of that year, he moved back to Kearny to return to The Observer full time. Click Here to send Kevin an email.