There is a very thin line separating stupidity from tragedy, and I think the Manalapan Police Department and several of its officers deserve a nod of thanks not only from me, but from the parents of a couple of dopey juveniles.
Although this particular incident occurred in Manalapan, it could have happened in any community that is served by Greater Media Newspapers.
Manalapan police Capt. Michael Fountain distributed a press release last week that serves as a stark reminder that although we live in a relatively safe region of New Jersey, a simple situation can get out of control in a minute.
On Feb. 1 at about 10:30 p.m., three juveniles put a box containing human feces on the front porch of their friend’s house in a Manalapan neighborhood.
The friend came out and found the “surprise,” saw the trio who left the package, and went back inside his house to retrieve a paintball gun.
The three pranksters ran from the scene and the juvenile holding the paintball gun began to chase them. Keep in mind it was dark. A neighbor saw what was happening and called police to report that one person holding a gun was chasing people on the street.
The three juveniles who pulled the prank fled the neighborhood in a van and were subsequently stopped by officers on Union Hill Road in what the police department’s press release described as a “high-risk motor vehicle stop.”
This high-risk motor vehicle stop in- volved one officer stopping traffic on Union Hill Road and multiple officers responding to the scene to deal with a situation in which a gun may have been present. At that moment the lives of the juveniles and/or the police officers could have been on the line.
I am relieved to report that no one was injured as a result of this situation. Police said the juveniles were taken out of the van and it was determined that they did not have a weapon.
Another officer responded to the home where the prank occurred and determined from the victim of the prank that he had, in fact, brandished a paintball gun at one point.
No charges were filed against any of the juveniles, according to police. This incident demonstrates how something that begins as a joke can end up with very serious, even deadly consequences, and it should serve as a warning to anyone who is thinking about doing something along the same lines.
It might not be too farfetched for me to suggest that the parents of all four juveniles owe a thank you to the officers who apparently kept their cool in a potentially explosive situation.
Mark Rosman is a managing editor with Greater Media Newspapers. He may be reached at [email protected].