Amid Dueling Petitions, Woodbridge's Thin Blue Line To Remain

WOODBRIDGE, NJ — There are now two dueling petitions regarding the blue pro-police line that runs down the center of Main Street in Woodbridge — this one asking the town to remove the line, and another asking that it remain.

As of Wednesday of this week, the township has no further update on the blue line, said Woodbridge spokesman John Hagerty. It appears it will stay in place. Update: The line was painted teal in September 2020 in honor of National Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month. Woodbridge said it repaints the center line on Main Street at various times throughout the year to recognize special events/causes, i.e. purple for Relay for Life in honor of cancer survivors; pink for National Breast Cancer Awareness; green for St. Patrick’s Day, etc.

A group of about 15 people attended the in-person Woodbridge council meeting this past Monday night. They were there to present a number of demands, including asking Woodbridge to remove the blue line, start using police body cameras, have more transparency and diversity in the police department and also to defund the police department, although they did not specify what exactly that meant.

The group consisted of mostly high school students and young people who live in Woodbridge Twp.

Woodbridge police do not wear body cameras.

"We want them to address the lack of diversity in the Woodbridge police department," said Salaam Ismial, who is part of the movement, but group members say he does not speak for all of them. He himself lives in Elizabeth. Ismail said there were 25 people total who wanted to attend, but there were limits on how many were allowed inside the building.

The group also has unanswered questions about the arrest of Qwason Campbell, an Elizabeth man who said he was jumped and beaten by Woodbridge police June 1. Police say he ran from officers in the course of several home break-ins, tripped and fell and was then tackled by police. Read that story: Dispute Between Woodbridge Cops, Man Who Says He Was Beaten

Ismail said the group presented the list of demands to the Woodbridge Council Monday night and if they do not get a response by July 16, they are planning several civil disobedience events, including protests at the Woodbridge Center Mall, marches along Rts. 1 and 9 and possible sit-ins at public buildings in town.

"These actions have all been advocated by Dr. Martin Luther King," said Ismial. "We have multiple options of bringing more aggressive attention."

(Editor's note: Other group members said Ismial does not speak for the entire group.)

The blue line has been in place for the past six years on Main Street in Woodbridge proper, and is repainted every year during Law Enforcement Week in May. The line is meant to represent a community's support for its police officers.

But to the 1,300 people who signed this petition, the line is a dig against the Black Lives Matter movement and ignores the plight of those who died due to police brutality.

That petition was started in early June by Jimmy Dabrowski.

But a rival petition, which so far has attracted 2,200 signatures, asks that the line remain in place. That petition was launched five days after Dabrowski launched his.

"In the wake of recent Black Lives Matter protests in the township, some have demanded the Township remove the blue line calling it divisive and insensitive," read the second petition. "Nothing is farther from the truth. Woodbridge Township is a diverse, inclusive town that welcomes ALL. We CAN come together to support our men & women of law enforcement and ALL the residents of the township."