The Cops

Several years ago, my ex-husband and I went to a Bruce (Springsteen) concert at the Meadowlands. We were surrounded by a group of obnoxiously loud people, who were blocking my view, and clearly not giving The Boss their complete and undivided attention. Not cool. I cannot remember exactly how it all played out, but within a few minutes, my ex-husband had grabbed the 16-ounce cup of beer from my hand, and threw it directly into the face of one of these people. I still do not know how or why complete mayhem did not then ensue. I can only assume this person was in shock. We then complained to a nearby security person about this group of people, and he promptly reseated us in a much better row, closer to the stage. This is how things tend to pan out for my ex-husband. He is one of those people who never suffers an immediate consequence for really bad behavior. Instead, consequences come later – in the form of massive destruction.

A few days after the concert, my phone rang. I did not recognize the number, so did not answer. But there was a voice mail. “Hello, this is the NJ State Police. I would like to discuss a complaint that has been filed about an incident in the Meadowlands that happened last week. Please call me at this number.” HOLY SHIT! My heart sank, and all the blood rushed from my head. I had never been called by a police officer, but immediately assumed it must have to do with that beer in the face thing. The concert tickets were in my name, so if someone had filed a complaint, they knew our seats, and I suppose the police were able to access that info. I immediately called my then brother-in-law, an attorney. He was able to calm me down, slightly. He then called the officer to discuss the matter on my behalf, which indeed did have to do with the beer in the face. But he was apparently just trying to close out the complaint, and needed a brief statement from me before doing so. I then spoke to the officer, and that was that.

So what does this story have to do with municipal government? Not a whole heck of lot, except that it was literally the ONLY real interaction – or experience whatsoever, that I’ve had with police, before entering municipal government.