<![CDATA[Toms River]]>

Video confirms TikTok traffic stop details & Toms River PD takes responsibility for misinformation

September 11, 2023 by John Petrolino Leave a Comment

This is the fourth piece in a series concerning a Tik Tok personality’s traffic stop. Tik Toker Joe Campisano, who goes by the name “EvoJoe” over at his channel, is a New Jersey permit to carry holder.

Previously chronicled was Campisano’s stop, which he discussed in an online video, about getting pulled over for alleged speeding. During the stop, Campisano was told he was improperly carrying his firearm – which at the time according to case law, he was not – and told that “in lieu of getting arrested” he was to be ticketed for speeding. After reaching out to the Toms River, New Jersey Police Department about the stop, they took responsibility for the wrong information the officer and sergeant gave to Campisano. We also obtained information that the officer who conducted the stop was working under a “speeding grant.” Through several Open Public Records Act requests and close communications with the media relations office at the department, I obtained the bodycam video and dashcam video of the stop, as well as more information concerning the mishap.

The first thing that needs to be addressed is the professional, quick, and courteous manner in which the Toms River Police Department has handled their communications with me and the execution of fulfilling my OPRA requests. In my first few pieces of correspondence with the department, they did take ownership for the misinformation that was out there about the manner in which a permit holder can transport their firearm in their car. The head of the media relations did bend over backward to help me out and the Chief of Police, Mitchell A. Little, did send a comment for publication.

The subject in question was issued a summons for 46 MPH in a 35 MPH zone which was the officer’s probable cause for the stop. That case will be heard and adjudicated in the Toms River Municipal Court. As far as the interaction regarding the NJ Firearms Law, we did not supply current information to the driver at the time, but it has since been corrected. As a police department we will be more prudent with the release of information and up-to-date directives with our officers.

As discussed in Campisano’s video and previously reported, he was pulled over for alleged speeding. According to Campisano, there was no way he was clocked because he utilizes a radar detector. After reviewing the bodycam and dashcam videos, both Campisano and Officer Weg’s behavior needs to be commended. The video is available HERE and in the embed below. The footage came with muted portions by the department in the form of redactions, and has been further cut to remove any personally identifying or sensitive information about the persons involved.

While Officer Weg – who was advised by Sergeant James Skripko via telephone – was wrong about the law concerning carry, his demeanor and behavior were both professional. Weg is heard saying that he was going to utilize the scenario as a teachable moment for Campisano. This attitude is one that more officers in New Jersey need to embrace. All too often when a firearm is involved – legal or otherwise – the story is plastered all over the pages of Bearing Arms and other Second Amendment related news sites about a bogus arrest, or one involving no victims. In this scenario, Weg believed that Campisano was breaking the law and rather than arresting him, gave him advice to know the law – albeit wrong advice.

Campisano was calm, cool, and collected through the entire stop. He fully complied with the law by informing Officer Weg that he was carrying his firearm and was respectful through the stop. When Weg approached Campisano with wrong information, Campisano asserted that he took a class and was educated on the topic. After Weg doubled down on the wrong information, Campisano did not argue with him, he just accepted the information and carried on with his day. Campisano took his complaint back to the department to discuss the misinformation with Sergeant Skripko. The results of two additional OPRAs indicated there’s no video record from Skripko’s bodycam chronicling the chat with Campisano, and the phone conversation recording between Weg and Skripko on the topic of carry was deleted after 30 days.

Both individuals actually need to be saluted here. If more interactions were like this, we’d have less issues in the Garden State between police officers and gun owners. Officer Weg and Campisano both kept cool heads, and most importantly, no one walked away in cuffs. In New Jersey, this is a big win, where firearm related charges generally come with a three year minimum mandatory sentence if an arrest ends with a conviction.

Here’s a transcript of when Officer Weg returned to Campisano’s car after talking with Sergeant Skripko:

Officer Weg: All right, sir…here’s deal. You cannot carry that gun on your hip in New Jersey. That is permit to carry…
Joe Campisano: Concealed.
Officer Weg: Correct.
Joe Campisano: I am concealed.
Officer Weg: I understand. Not New Jersey, not while you’re driving a motor vehicle. That gun has to be locked in a separate compartment away from the ammunition, also locked in a separate compartment. That’s an arrestable offense, which I’m not going to do right now. I’m going to treat this as an educational moment.
Joe Campisano: Okay, I was I was under the impression otherwise. I went to a state police course. And asked if we could drive with it. And they said, “Yes.”
Officer Weg: Yeah. You cannot. You gotta educate yourself on the law a little bit.
Joe Campisano: I went to a class.
Officer Weg: If I had some reading material, I just called my sergeant just to verify and make sure…
Joe Campisano: I was I was pulled over multiple times in.. my gun on my hip, and I have not had any problems.
Officer Weg: Okay.
Joe Campisano: I do apologize.
Officer Weg: That’s okay.
Joe Campisano: I’ll double check…
Officer Weg: But, this is how bad things happen. You know what I mean? So future reference, educate yourself. Like I said…
Joe Campisano: I went through a state police course ran by Shooters.
Officer Weg: Yeah.
Joe Campisano: And, mind blown. I literally got, unfortunately, yesterday I got pulled over.
Officer Weg: Okay.
Joe Campisano: And I you know, same deal. I gave the cop my card, I said, “Listen, I am carrying on my left hip,” as we’re shown here.
Officer Weg: Yep.
Joe Campisano: No problem.
Officer Weg: Yeah.
Joe Campisano: Went back to his car, came right back, gave me my things, and sent me on my way. This is news to me.
Officer Weg: I appreciate you telling me and letting me know. So it’s supposed to be treated as like before when you would go to the range you know how used to transport your weapon? That’s how it was. That’s how it is when you’re driving with a concealed, after that you can put it back on and do whatever. But that’s because we live in New Jersey. And it can’t just be a normal carry because New Jersey, New Jersey, everything’s got to be messed up. That’s that’s, that’s that’s the law they passed. But like I said, I’m gonna treat it. I’m gonna treat it as educational moment and I’m not arresting anyone. However, I am going to issue a citation for speeding in lieu of being arrested today. You were going 47 in a 35. I’m working a speeding grant. So, fair enough?
Joe Campisano: Of course. Whatever you say.
Officer Weg: All right. Wait for me to pull away please. Have a good day.

Aside from having the wrong information – which is a big deal for sure – the only criticism I can give up about the exchange given the video – for both parties – is what Officer Weg had to say. Officer Weg telling Campisano, “I am going to issue a citation for speeding in lieu of being arrested today. You were going 47 in a 35. I’m working a speeding grant.” was probably not the best thing to say. That statement can be interpreted many ways, and bringing up the grant, unless needed to be disclosed due to law, should have not been mentioned.

The entire concept of a speeding grant is suspect. In my opinion, an officer working a speeding grant who pulls someone over for speeding, could be used as an affirmative defense for an alleged speeder. The fact an officer’s overtime or wages are being paid through the grant taints the stop, in my opinion.

The law that the New Jersey legislature wrote and was enacted by Governor Murphy is irresponsible and unconstitutional for many reasons. In this case, requiring permit to carry holders – and only permit to carry holders – to have to tell an officer they engage with that they have a handgun is not a necessary detail. If the individual is a law abiding citizen, which permit to carry holders are, there’s nothing to worry about. It’s of zero consequence if someone is carrying a firearm when they’re being stopped for alleged speeding. In this case, the only real conflict revolved around Campisano’s lawful carry of a firearm. Had Campisano not been required to divulge that information, this would not be news.

Officer Weg did say, “this is how bad things happen,” and he’s correct. Bad things happen when officers who are not understanding like Weg was, might fly off the handle over lawful carry. The police and public at large need to accept the reality that the carry of firearms is perfectly normal. Bad things happen when the word “gun” is said in a state like New Jersey, and the culture needs to change to accept the civil right. Cops also need to know and respect the laws.

Rather than having more Jim Crow-style laws tossed at gun owners, the State could better equip gun owners and officers of the law by having information campaigns about this right. In discussing the matter with the media relations head of Toms River, she did tell me that they have been in contact with both the Attorney General’s office and New Jersey State Police about so-called “civilian carry.” Here’s the issue: this is all reactionary. What has the state done to notify all the municipalities of the current law(s) and case law(s) regulating firearms in New Jersey?

Wanting to know, I reached out to both the New Jersey State Police and the New Jersey Attorney General’s Office. I asked both parties if there has been any guidance at all concerning the dynamic changes in New Jersey’s law. The law was changed in December, then subsequent to that there have been two temporary restraining orders, a preliminary injunction, and a partial stay, all regulating carry law in the Garden State. The most recent, a partial stay of the law was issued on June 20th, 2023 at the Third Circuit Court of Appeals level. Campisano was pulled over on July 31st, that’s more than enough time for the Attorney General and New Jersey State Police to get the information about the case law out to the municipal police departments on how to handle citizens who are legally carrying firearms.

Not surprisingly, neither the Attorney General’s Office nor the New Jersey State Police replied to my request for information and comment. This was an attempt to get an actual comment, which both parties decided to not participate in the conversation. This matter will be followed up on with further OPRA requests.

This traffic stop has the earmarks of several learning moments. The manner in which Weg handled the stop should be repeated by other officers in similar situations, this could be a powerful training tool. What was said could have been said better in some instances, but no one got arrested or assaulted. Whether or not Campisano was speeding, he’ll have his day in court and get to argue that, and I’m confident he’ll get off based off what’s been learned about the situation. Another exemplary element of this situation has to do with the expeditious and cooperative manner in which the Toms River Police Department both took ownership of the scenario, and was transparent during every stop of the way.

Hopefully this scenario will aid both permit to carry holders and police departments in navigating a free New Jersey. While there might be some crow being eaten by all parties involved, everyone did win in this situation. There’s no Give Send Go account set up for someone’s legal defense fund, we’re not reading any obituaries, and nothing about this matter hit the police blotter. Is this important news? It sure is. For so many reasons. Let’s also hope that other departments and officers in the state are being educated on the most up to date laws on carry.

To watch the dashcam and bodycam videos from Officer Weg on the 31st of July 2023, you can check them out HERE or in the embed below:

Please be sure to check out all previously reported articles on this story:

Was TikToker pulled over under suspicious circumstances in car carry conflict?

August 25, 2023 by John Petrolino Leave a Comment

The last few days there’s been a flurry of correspondence and information about a story I’m covering. EvoJoe, a Tik Tok personality was pulled over in Toms River, New Jersey, and dealt with an ill-informed officer concerning car carry. The officer accused Joe of illegally carrying a firearm even though he had a permit to carry, and was in compliance with the law at that time. The chief of police in a statement did take some responsibility for the officer involved, Officer Weg, for not knowing the current status of the law. One of Joe’s claims was that he was not speeding, that Officer Weg stated he was on a so-called “speeding grant,” and he was making good overtime writing speeding tickets. It appears that Officer Weg’s motives for pulling EvoJoe over should be called into question because I received information that there was indeed a grant program subsidizing the payment of Officer Weg’s overtime.

One of the things Joe said in his TikTok video was that he was not speeding, and he had a radar detector that did not indicate he was being clocked. After Officer Weg accused Joe of illegally carrying his firearm, Joe alleges that Weg told him he was going to ticket him for speeding rather than arrest him for unlawful carry.

When I caught up with Joe, he told me that Weg was bragging about being paid under a grant and getting some good overtime. I filed an Open Public Records Act request (the New Jersey equivalent of a Freedom of Information Act request) with the Toms River Police Department and got some interesting information. In my second OPRA request concerning Joe’s case, I asked for any and all documents concerning grants or incentives during the time period Weg pulled over EvoJoe.

My request:

Any and all documents pertaining to or suggesting a so-called “speeding grant,” whereas an officer will be paid more for writing speeding tickets, was in place the months of July and August 2023. As alleged, officers get paid an additional $75.00 per hour to write speeding tickets. Seeking documentation to support this claim.

Here is how the OPRA department responded:

Good Day, Officers do not get paid extra to write speeding tickets. Periodically the State and Federal government have grants available to local police departments. These grants can be for a variety of things; Seat belt enforcement “Click it or Ticket”, DUI enforcement, safe driving, Cell phone, etc. Officers sign up to work these grants on their off-duty time. Each grant has the hourly rate set in the paperwork for the grant. We hope this explanation helps.

I followed up with another question specifically asking if there was a grant that Weg was working under when Joe was pulled over. The OPRA department’s response:

Good Day, Officer Weg was working a speeding enforcement grant, STEP grant.

A “STEP grant” is a “Selective Traffic Enforcement Program.” This means that Officer Weg’s overtime was subsidized by an outside agency. He was indeed working a shift that was paid for with the intention of “speeding enforcement,” aka writing tickets.

I’ll give credit where credit is due. The records department and OPRA officer(s) at the Toms River Police Department have been very accommodating to all my OPRA requests. So kudos! for making this a crisp process. As for Officer Weg, well, we’ll have to just see how he acted the morning he pulled over Joe once I get the bodycam videos.

It was only a matter of time before a New Jersey permit-to-carry holder got tripped up by a cop that does not know the law. Luckily, Joe was not arrested, to Weg’s credit, but we can’t say for certain he wasn’t harassed. The officer’s ignorance of the carry law is no excuse – as has been the case for countless people who have had their lives ruined by the State of New Jersey’s draconian laws.

Carry is a normal everyday occurrence in the Garden State now. It’s time gun owners are no longer treated like second-class citizens, and further, we get rid of these life-ruining laws once and for all.

Please be sure to catch parts 1 and 2 of this saga:

Tik Tok personality claims N.J. town cop mistaken on carry law
Police chief takes (some) responsibility for N.J. Tik Tok personality’s car carry situation

Police chief takes (some) responsibility for N.J. Tik Tok personality’s car carry situation

August 24, 2023 by John Petrolino Leave a Comment

The other day I wrote about some allegations that a Tik Tok user who goes by the handle of EvoJoe made about the Toms River, N.J. police. According to Joe – whose last name I’ll be withholding until I have full permission to use it – he was pulled over in his development for driving 46 miles per hour in a 35 mile per hour zone. Since the publication of my last coverage on this story, I spoke with both Joe and did make contact with the Toms River Police Department. The Chief of Police of Toms River, Mitchell A. Little, did take some responsibility for the lack of knowledge on his officers’ parts.

As previously reported, Joe made allegations – which have now been confirmed to be true according to the Toms River Police Department in part – that when he was pulled over he was told his mode of carry was illegal. Joe is one of the citizens in New Jersey that has decided to exercise his constitutional right to bear an arm and got a permit to carry. When pulled over by Officer Weg, Joe presented his New Jersey permit to carry and informed officer Weg that he was bearing an arm and where it was located on his body. In short, Officer Weg told Joe that he’s supposed to have his firearm unloaded and in a case when in the car.

The law in New Jersey, at this time – and this is not legal advice – allows New Jersey permit to carry holders to keep their firearm loaded on themselves when in their car. The law saying this is not allowed has been preliminarily enjoined and was not subject to a stay at the Third Circuit Court of Appeals. None of this information apparently made it to Officer Weg, or his supervisor, the desk Sergeant advising him at the time of Joe getting pulled over.

I reached out to the Toms River Police Department about being placed on hold waiting on dispatch for over an hour, as well as seeking comment on Joe’s story. When I initially called them I was placed on hold for over an hour before I hung up. They got back to me today.

As for the ungodly delay of over an hour before I hung up, they cannot locate my call. Whatever tracking system the department uses, they can’t find a record of me calling, to which I supplied screenshots indicating I did in fact make the calls on August 21st and showed the length of the calls. The call started at 15:04 CST and lasted 1 hr 3 mins and 51 seconds.

Some of the information about Joe’s stop was corroborated by Chief Little. In my correspondence with the Toms River Police Department, I received a statement from the chief:

The subject in question was issued a summons for 46 MPH in a 35 MPH zone which was the officer’s probable cause for the stop. That case will be heard and adjudicated in the Toms River Municipal Court. As far as the interaction regarding the NJ Firearms Law, we did not supply current information to the driver at the time, but it has since been corrected. As a police department we will be more prudent with the release of information and up-to-date directives with our officers.

There we have it, the chief of police has corroborated a bit of Joe’s story. And many thanks to the Media Relations representative of the Toms River Police. She has been awesome in her correspondence with me and I do appreciate her efforts.

As for Joe, he and I had a nice little chat and discussed his situation. One of the things he noted in his video and he repeated to me again, that he had a radar detector. There’s no way that he was clocked speeding, as he was going 35 miles per hour, and he did not detect a radar. Something else he shared with me is that he was told by an officer that they were at the time in a “speeding grant,” and that officers would get paid an extra $75.00 per hour or so to write speeding tickets.

I have since opened an Open Public Records Request, New Jersey’s equivalent of a Freedom of Information Act request. I’m seeking the bodycam and dashcam videos and audio from officer Weg and the other responding officer(s), ten minutes prior to Joe getting pulled over and through the encounter. According to Joe, Officer Weg responded to the scene as did two other officers. Only one other officer got out of their car. According to my request, the OPRA office said that, “We have reviewed your request and 2 police officers were present on scene with a total of 4 videos consisting of 51 minutes of video.” Soon enough we should all have answers to how it all went down and if Weg admitted to giving Joe a ticket in lieu of arresting him for what he thought was unlawful carry.

I’m going to continue to follow Joe’s story closely, especially now that we’re in contact. This story should be a wakeup call to both the police in New Jersey and permit to carry holders. To the police, the default feeling that when they see a gun or hear about a gun, an arrest should happen needs to go out the window. There are permit to carry holders out there that are lawfully carrying. Don’t be an officer Weg. To my fellow permit to carry holders, remember not all police officers know what they’re talking about. If anything, this encounter is exactly why a duty to inform law should not be on the books. The Officer Wegs out there just don’t always get it right, and then they ticket you anyhow. I have a feeling Joe will get out of this one.

Tik Tok personality claims N.J. town cop mistaken on carry laws

August 22, 2023 by John Petrolino Leave a Comment

Carrying a firearm in the Garden State is coming with some real growing pains for some people. That’s understandable – somewhat. Something that was completely verboten and looked down upon as being strictly criminal, is now legal when someone bears a permit to carry. We are battling both legal and social battles, and everyone looking back at gun owners needs to just accept the reality that being armed is a normal part of everyday life. One Tik Tok personality recently chronicled an encounter he said he had with a Toms River, New Jersey police officer.

To be completely fair, which – eh, probably shouldn’t have to be fair, because the police are supposed to know the laws, including case laws – New Jersey’s carry laws are convoluted and in a period of flux. Since the Attorney General of New Jersey dropped the enforcement of the “justifiable need” clause to get a permit to carry, and the Association of New Jersey Rifle and Pistol Clubs successfully litigated the statute out of law, the legislators introduced the “carry-killer” law. That law was enacted and has found itself subject to two temporary restraining orders, a preliminary injunction, and since has had sections of the injunction stayed. I don’t think any of that should be an excuse for a police officer to harass a lawfully permitted carrier in New Jersey, as was alleged.

Tik Tok personality EvoJoe, on his popular daily_driven_dreamcars channel, last week chronicled an encounter he said he had while getting pulled over.

So today, I was driving down my actual street. It’s a 35 mile an hour zone. And I was going 35 miles an hour. I was in my pickup truck. No reason to speed. I was actually just heading to Dunkin Donuts, fat people problems, when this young man pulled me over and said that I was doing 46 miles an hour and a 35. Now of course I wasn’t doing 46 miles an hour and a 35 and I had a radar detector in my truck. It wasn’t going off. Like any good self respecting citizen I pulled over as soon as the boys put put their lights on. The officer came to the window, I gave him my license, registration, my family gold card, and my concealed carry permit for the state of New Jersey. I had my hands on the steering wheel, and I explained to him that I was carrying a firearm on my left hip. With that officer Weg says, “Go ahead and sit tight for me. I’ll be right back with you.” I didn’t think much of it. I’ve been pulled over many of times, trust me with that. About 5 – 10 minutes goes by, multiple officers start pulling up. A female cop is outside of her car and unholsters her weapon. I started scratching my head at this point I’m like, “am I trouble?”

EvoJoe further explained in the video that New Jersey’s law is still new to everyone. As I pointed out, not only is this all new behavior, what is and is not legal has changed several times in the last year.

So he comes back to my window about 20 minutes later, keeps me on the side of the road much longer than necessary, comes to my window and starts explaining to me that I can’t have my firearm on my hip while driving my car in the state of New Jersey. With that I explained to him, “I’m very well educated in this law, I certainly wouldn’t be carrying my firearm, if I wasn’t allowed to be doing so,” to which he explained that he called into the sergeant and the sergeant said that “in order to carry my firearm in the car in the state of New Jersey, that the ammunition has to be locked up in one compartment the firearm has to be locked up in another compartment.” Now we know as concealed carry holders, we don’t need to do that. That is specifically for transport of a firearm to and from the range if you don’t have your concealed carry. So we do a little bit of back and forth. And I explained to officer Weg I’m not having court here on the side of the road with you.

This is where some massive points of confusion can come into play. Important to note, none of what’s being said here is legal advice, and checking with a competent attorney on the subject of New Jersey firearms law should be done for clarification.

Part of the aforementioned carry-killer law involved provisions on how permit holders were to be required to transport their firearm in a vehicle. The new law, NJ Rev Stat § 2C:58-4.6 (2022)7b: states the following:

(1) A person, other than a person lawfully carrying a firearm within the authorized scope of an exemption set forth in subsection a., c., or l. of N.J.S.2C:39-6, who is otherwise authorized under the law to carry or transport a firearm shall not do so while in a vehicle in New Jersey, unless the handgun is unloaded and contained in a closed and securely fastened case, gunbox, or locked unloaded in the trunk of the vehicle.

That’s the current law on the books. That portion of the law, however, was enjoined by Judge Marie Bumb on May 16, 2023:

ORDERED that Plaintiffs’ Motions for a Preliminary Injunction to enjoin N.J. Stat. Ann. § 2C:58-4.6(a)(6), (a)(9) (zoos only), (a)(10) (to include N.J. Admin. Code § 7:2-2.17(b), but excluding playgrounds), (a)(12), (a)(15), (a)(17), (a)(18) (to include N.J. Admin. Code §69D-1.13), (a)(21) (only as to facilities set forth in Plaintiffs’ declarations), (a)(23), (a)(24) (only as to private property that is held open to the public), id. § 2C:58-4.6(b)(1) (prohibition on functional firearms in vehicles), id. § 2C:58-4(c) (in-person interview requirement of carry permit applicant’s character endorsers); id. §§ 2C:58-4(d)(4), 2C:58-4.3 (Insurance Mandate), and N.J. Admin. Code § 7:25-5.23(f)(5) (prohibition on functional firearms in vehicles) are GRANTED; and it is

Since the injunction at the Federal District Court of New Jersey, the state appealed to the Third Circuit Court of Appeals seeking an emergency stay. The stay was granted in part and rejected in part. The June 20th, 2023 stay stated:

The Emergency Motion for Stay Pending Appeal is hereby GRANTED in part and DENIED in part. The requested stay is GRANTED as to the preliminary injunction of N.J. Stat. Ann. §§ 2C:58-4.6(a)(6), (a)(9), (a)(10), (a)(12), (a)(15), (a)(17), (a)(18), (a)(21), as we conclude the applicable factors warrant such a stay, see In re Revel AC, Inc., 802 F.3d 558, 568 (3d Cir. 2015). The requested stay is otherwise DENIED.

Absent from the list of what the Third Circuit Court was willing to allow to be enforced were the prohibitions on car carry. While what’s been alleged about Officer Weg’s understanding of the law might be true according to the statute, he, as well as the sergeant that was called, they both are grossly mistaken on the enforceability of the law. EvoJoe was correct in his assertions about the current legality of car carry in New Jersey.

Where EvoJoe is going to really make some waves here is how he finished off his story about what he alleged happened:

At any rate, he tells me I’ll need to disassemble the firearm and put it away after he leaves and that he should be arresting me for this offense to which I rebutted with. “Please do.” Which he knew better. He did. And then he swings to me, he says, “In lieu of arresting you today, I’m giving you this speeding ticket.” Are you starting to see the pattern? The other police officer showed up and told him he was wrong. But he couldn’t just let me go. So you had to give me that ticket. Now I can 100% guarantee you that he was not radaring me and did not have me on his radar gun. Was it even calibrated? Did you use it? Was I going 46? Are you sure this is the argument you want to have in court? Now of course everything is on body camera. And they have him saying, “In lieu of arresting you today, I’m gonna give you this ticket.” What? But – Come on! This is how we’re policing now?

EvoJoe explained that subsequent to the encounter, he requested to talk to the chief of police over at Toms River, but that request was denied. He did say, however, that he talked to the sergeant who misadvised Officer Weg, and “he admitted that he misinformed him and he was extremely apologetic for doing so. And he also explained that the State Police aren’t informing them on the case laws and all the up-to-date information and the latest information that he has is on the State Police website.”

Following his conversation with the Toms River police sergeant he spoke with, he relayed his story to the State Police, and they told him that, “they are on the way to Toms River Township right now, to inform the officers and educate them on the concealed carry laws.” EvoJoe stated that he personally thought the NJSP coming to educate the department was commendable.

Many years ago I met with an attorney that specializes in firearm law. I was running some scenarios past him and when I got to one, he said, “You’d completely win that one in court. Guaranteed.” To which I replied, “I’m here today to make sure I don’t end up in court. If I end up in court, I’ve already lost.” The point is, what is and is not legal is one set of parameters we have to live by and comport with. Then, there’s what the police think is or is not legal, and then there’s what a prosecutor thinks they could get away with charging people. Regardless of what the law is, we absolutely need to safeguard ourselves when we are living an armed lifestyle. That means thinking about these kinds of scenarios and how we’ll react as individuals.

Through a colleague, I managed to get word over to EvoJoe about wanting to discuss the situation further with him. He did indicate a willingness to chat, however, we were not able to connect.

The phrase, “When seconds count, help is minutes away,” danced through my mind when I called the Toms River Police Department for comment. Oftentimes a public information officer might have a canned response to something like the allegations that EvoJoe made, and I wanted to get their position on the encounter. After waiting on hold for dispatch for over an hour, I finally hung up the phone.

I don’t know what’s going on over at the Toms River Police Department, but I think we can all agree that waiting on hold for over an hour for dispatch to answer is beyond unacceptable. If anything, my waiting for the police to answer the phone only further solidified the fact that we’re on our own when it comes to our personal safety and makes the argument for us about why we should go about our lives armed.

I also reached out to Toms River Mayor Mo Hill, about the lengthy hold time, and I have not received a response.

Considering we only have one half of the story, I still commend EvoJoe for the cool manner in the way he claims he handled the situation. If everything went down exactly as he said it did, shame on Officer Weg for not knowing the law and then still ticketing EvoJoe – so he had something on him. Shame on the Toms River Police Department for not knowing the current case law as well, and for not answering their phone.

I do believe that many of the departments out there are doing their best to stay up to date on changes in the law, and are well-intentioned, but things do fall between the cracks. In a state like New Jersey, that’s a big deal when we’re dealing with minimum mandatories of 3-to-10 years on firearm-related offenses.

Let’s hope that going forward the memo gets out to all the police in the Garden State, and further, they pay attention to and respect the rights of law-abiding permit-to-carry holders. Should further information about this story come up, I’ll put out an update in a subsequent post, so stay tuned!

You can check out EvoJoe’s video in the embed below or click HERE.

@daily_driven_dreamcars I uave mad respect for these guys but this …. No way mad disrespectful #cartok #fyp #cars #carcommunity #cartokhub ♬ original sound – EvoJoe