| Start with this: Healy's charges against the officers for abusing their authority and roughing him up was heard by a grand jury - eighteen witnesses testified and the charges were dismissed. Written testimony of two additional witnesses was read into the record. Only six witnesses were present for the whole incident - Healy and his wife, the two officers, and the young couple who were involved in the dispute to start with. The record states, "The testimony of the two officers, Mr. Barnes, and Ms. Volante all was consistent with regard to Mayor Healy's role in the altercation with Officer Browning, Mayor Healy's refusal to comply with police orders, and Mayor Healy's refusal to submit to arrest.
Their testimony also agrees that the Mayor "was slurring his words and reeked of alcohol". The Mayor took it upon himself to lecture the young couple - and was told to mind his own business repeatedly. When the police arrived and separated the couple to speak to them individually, Mayor Healy decided to tell the police they were not needed. The officer told Mayor Healy to leave or face arrest. Mayor Healy was told three times by the officer to leave him alone and let him do his job.
After the sixth time he was told that he was not welcomed, Mayor Healy - according to four witnesses - told the officer, "You can't arrest me. I'm the mayor of Jersey City." When the officer told Healy that he was under arrest, he jerked back from the officer and knocked his own wife to the ground. On that point, there is some disagreement as another witness said it appeared that Mrs. Healy, who was also intoxicated, tripped over her husband when she tried to move out of the way. When Mayor Healy saw his wife fall, he balled up his fists and held them in front of him - which most people will understand as a threat of fisticuffs.
After the first officer took Mayor Healy to the ground, the Mayor got back up and was subsequently wrestled to the ground again by both officers. In response to orders to put his hands behind his back, Mayor Healy repeatedly told the officers that they were not going to arrest him. The crowd, which contained a large number of Healy's relatives, began to react negatively and the police called for backup. The crowd was screaming profanities at the police and reminding them that they were arresting the Mayor of Jersey City.
On the way to the cop shop, Mayor Healy demanded that the officers bring their chief down to talk to him. One of the quotes is, "If you know what's good for you, you will call the Chief and get him down here before this goes any further." He repeatedly told the police officers that this needed to be handled without an arrest and mentioned that it could be "swept under the rug" (see other comments here).
It seems pretty clear that Mayor Healy was intoxicated and that he inserted himself into a situation that no one - no one but him - wanted his input. He was repeatedly asked to leave, to submit to police authority, and to act as a law abiding citizen and refused. There really can be no excuse for that sort of behavior. "Drunk and stupid" is fine for relatives who are willing to overlook a boorish performance, but it is not a legal defense.
But Mayor Healy did nothing that would have him thrown out of office. Yeah, it is embarrassing to everyone but Healy, who apparently has no shame over the issue. But he was not on an official visit. He was boozing it up as a private citizen. Screaming your occupation might be interpreted as an attempt to extort or influence behavior, but that is a separate charge and was never brought.
Ultimately, it is the voters of Jersey City who will pass judgment on Jerramiah Healy. In what I consider to be an unfortunate chain of events, Healy has been mythologized for his idiocy instead of being condemned. But that, too, is part of electoral politics. We truly do get the government we deserve.
Let the apologists swing for the fences... |
