r Sanders Case: Police Lesson

(From f*agc-l)

Saunders and his friend, ‘Donald. Williams, wen* allowed logo home, but a Jew days late*, Middle Township Police ,Chief fcdward Hansen and Public Safety Director Michael Veil, coincidentally a patrolman in Wildwood, threw the book at him Saunders supporters ctmtend they th^ew the whole library . The case has been ugly in many ways. Thefe were charges that elements in the Midcfce Township Police Force were out to get Saunders, that they were trying to block him from becoming the township’s t nest police chi^f because of his race The NAACP demanded fair treatment at Saunders' hearing and to assure that, Superior Court Judge Philip Gruccio appointed* an out of county judge to preside. TIIKKK WKRK also undertones that Saudners was causing dissension in the police department These, however, werp^all side issues and the question remained whether Saunders, as a police officer, should have gone to Swiftv.'s Sea Food Market in tire first place, knowing that it was suspected to be

a speakeasy

Saunders testified at his hearing that he had heard rumors Swifty’s sold alcohol He also said he had been there three'years ago. but never did he buy a drink. Hut what hurt Saundprs the most was a letter he sent to Chief Hansen four days after the raid In that lc%r he said he had told Williams,*a licensed casino control employee, that he knew Swifty’s "was a place that sold sandwiches, but it was also a speakeasy He also was cjwted in tho letter as having sail! if the police were to rpid the place, it wouldn't be until 5:30 in

,the afternoon

* The opposing lawyers, Kenneth Mackler for the defense, and Township Solicitor (ieorge James sized up the plight of . Saunders and any policeman in their

.summations

"Is the conduct so horrendous to require (hat he be convicted*?.*’ asked Mackler. To which James replied: We are faced with a situation where an admittedly good man was fn the wrong place at the wrong time Like other good men. he must pay for his mistake." In giving his decision. Judge Serata said he i*N,impressed with. Saunders’ record

whith he characterized as/ 'virtually spotlqss," but he said he could not get around the fact that Saunders knew liquor was sold when he went there with his friend. ••I THINK he was indiscreet, did not set ftn example and shbuldn’t have been in the . place," the Judge added. v '\The jurist said he found nothing that in- ^ vmyes moral turpitude and he pointed out th<y policeman, k 12 year veteran of the foKce, has suffered embarrassment for his error. He suspended- Saunders for five ■days and ordered his immediate reinstatement He had been suspended for several weeks since the charges were levied against him hut now will be reimbursed for all of those days except the penalty time imposed by the judge. One of the charges.involved the fact that Saunders did not carry a gun off duty. But Judge Serata acquitted the captain with the ruling that the "practical application of the regulation is not what the regulation says." After the judge announced his decision, * the spectators applauded and congratulated the police captain. "I’m just glad it’s over," he told reporters.and said he would report back to duty last Monday. There was some feeling among Saunders supporters that this was a William' Shakespeare case. Much ado about nothing. If nothing else,- though, it showed that policemen can avoid considerable personal troubles if they bend backwards to ■ stay av^py.from them. WISHFUL THINKING Looking through the magazines One finds a host of gourmet scenes So appetizing, every dish, So tantalizing one could wish That diets on another page To keep usTrim and hide our age, Would somehow never find their

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Doris Ward THIS RAMSHACKLE balldln* one. was the Jail at Cape May Point. It Is be I ns moved to Cold Sprlnit Village where It will be converted Into a shop. John Orr. who Is 81 years old today, recalls the boyhood days when he and his Wends played in It. A New Life Due an Old town Jail

(From Page 1) 81st birthday. Orr’s parents brought him to Cape May Point when hekvas an infant and he recalls playing in later yeare in and out of the jail with his friends. Some would be the jailers, others the prisoners. •THE JAIL was an informal plhce of incarceration, more of a free hotel than a 'penal institution. Orr reminiscos about the days when trolleys ran into the Point from Cape Mfcy City^and often, late at night, it carried passengers, usually summer help, who were so inebriated they couldn’t remember whdfe they were staying. They were accontoodated in the free hotel which didn’twen have a lock on it and provided room sirvice in the form of food. "There whs no water, no heat, no sanitation," Orr explained. “It was almost a glorified pig pen and no oj)e spent more than 24 hours there."

Cape May Point had no police force at that time and Its mayor, Ed Springer, was a jack of all trades. Among his roles was that of jailer, Orr recalls. The original site was property owned by Springer’s mother on Pearl Avenue between Cape and Central Avenues. After her death it was moved to Yale Avenue in back of the firehouse. ITS USE as a jail ended about 30 years ago and the building has befbngcd to the town’s volunteer fife department since then. It has been basically used as a storage facility. When the fire department contemplated moving it. Cold Spring Village agreed to take possession for posterity and practical purposes. It will be converted into a shop and may be used as an artist’s studio. Orr estimates that the building is about 100 years old. Charles Reeves, president of the fire company, puts it between the 80 and 90 year time frame.

State Senator’s Plans for Cape May County

(From Page 1) j they certainly are not enthusiastic about expending funds for building a super highway in South Jersey. However. Hurley sees an encouraging upturn in the economy in the next year and is optimistic that within five years cars will be humming along the road which he feels will be to Cape May County what the Atlantic City Expressway is to Atlantic County. He also is encouraged by the support his proposal is^getting from Gov. Thomas Kean. Another of his pet bills, introduced last January, is a million dollar matching fund package for the promotion of tourism in Cape May County. Such legislation would enable the state to pay each municipality a proportion of the cost of the advertising and other promotional expenses. It would substantially reduce the municipality’s appropriation while still helping to attract more vacationists. AGAIN BECAUSE of the economy the bill has been stalemated, but Hurley, the original sponsor of the bill that created the Division of Tourism, is optimistic that the , light at the end of the tunnel is in sight. The economy, too, is affecting the future of another Hurley proposal for a referendum on a $70 million shore protection bond act. In the recent election, two whopping bond referenda were passed by the voters and it is doubtful that the legislature will :o for another right away. The senator is pushing for it, however, iicause he believes it is important. Municipalities now pay a maximum of 25 pbr cent of the cost of shore protection work and the state the rest. Hurley is of the firm conviction that more shore preservation could be accomplished if the municipality's share were reduced and the state's increased. If not next year. Hurley hopes to get the referendum on the ballot In ’84. Of the more immediate accomplishment i^jMS-lftlCIor the licensing and control of mopeds. The number of deaths and injuries suffered through the use of mopeds has increased dramatically and Hurley introduced a bill requiring the use of helmets. The bill has since been amended to require licensing and registration. The bill, sponsored by Hurley, will be voted upon in the Senate at the end of this year

and Assembly action is expected shortly after. , Another Hurley bill in the works is designed to reduce the dangers from the use of kerosene heaters. He wants proper warnings placed on the heaters. Another senator from Newark wants to make kerosene heaters illegal. Hurley’s reply is that you don't cure the disease by 'filling the patient. The more plausible solution, he points out, is to make them safer. HURLEY IS also offering a litter control bill that would be an alternative to a bottle deposit bill requiring consumers to pay a deposit on beverage containers which they would get back when they return the containers. The senator’s alternative bill would impose a $150 tax per million dollars of gross sales on the manufacturers. That money would go into a fund from which personnel could be hirpdto pick up the litter along the roadsides. Much of the debris, he points out, coulci be recycled arid the money derived from recycling could then be placed in a litter control fund. Hurley’s bill, just introduced, is getting a lot of attention throughout the state. It is patterned after similar legislation that went into eflect in the state of Washington and is being considered in other states. "In drunken driving cases, my goal is to bring about new laws that are as tough as any in the United States or even tougher,” Hurley said. Under New Jersey's current laws, drunken drivers are subject to a $250 fine or up to two years revocation of their license on first offense. The penalties get progressively stiffer for repeat violators. Hurley’s colleague from Gloucester County, Sen. Raymond Zane, has introduced a mandatory jail sentence of three days for first offenders and while Hurley has no objection to that he feels a more comprehensive study should be made for tough drunken driving legislation.