Of Preachy Police and Medical Marijuana

To the Editor:
David Wells, the former Long Branch Police Officer who was recently arrested at Monmouth Mall on a Defiant Tresspass disorderly persons (misdemeanor) charge for refusing to leave the mall after being told to do so will likely be found guilty and face criminal sanctions.
By his own account, Wells went to the mall and began passing out religious leaflets and speaking to mall shoppers about religion. Wells was asked to stop leafleting by mall security and refused to do so. He was then told to leave the mall property and refused to so. At this point, police became involved and after defying further demands to leave the property, Wells was placed under arrest.
Wells is relying on the court decision in NEW JERSEY COALITION v. J.M.B. REALTY 266 N.J. Super. 159 (1993) 628 A.2d 1075, which found a constitutional right to free speech in New Jersey malls and shopping centers to claim his activities were lawful.
Unfortunately, Wells is failing to note that the court decision allows malls to set policies requiring permission to leaflet. Mall security told Wells that once he followed the mall’s permission policy to leaflet that he would be allowed to resume his proselytizing at the mall. Wells chose to ignore the mall’s policy and is now facing legal consequences for refusing to leave after violating mall rules.
The mall is a privately owned shopping center. The court decision recognized the town square role that such shopping centers now play and balanced this fact of modern life with allowing businesses to implement policies to ensure said activities do not interfere with the use of their property for business purposes.
It is also worth noting that Robert Angelini, a former police officer who worked with Wells and came out publicly in support of his former co-worker’s blatant disregard for the law is the husband of state Assemblywoman Mary Pat Angelini. Angelini has made it her personal crusade to stop seriously ill patients such as myself from having safe access to medical marijuana. It is hypocritical that Angelini’s wife wants to put sick people in jail for using a doctor approved medication, yet Angelini gives a free pass to former law enforcement officers who choose to break the law and disobey lawful police orders.
Wells must be sentenced to jail time for his offense and not receive special treatment because of his affiliation with law enforcement. Any other citizen who behaved in the unlawful manner Wells did would also have likely gotten additional charges for resisting arrest, disorderly conduct and obstructing administration of law. Anything short of jail time for Wells would demonstrate that those with law enforcement connections in New Jersey do not have to follow the same rules the rest of society.