METUCHEN — Dancing from one foot to another to keep warm, Amanda Bolvito held a one-woman demonstration Monday outside the Metuchen police station.
Her message: "Blue lives matter."
The phrase is a response to protestors — often holding signs that say "Black lives matter" — to demonstrate the killing of two unarmed black men by white police officers.
Bolvito says police don't get the recognition they deserve.
"Every life is extremely important, from unborn life to elderly people," Bolvito said. "But we need to realize that (police officers) put their lives on the line every single day."
Today in New Jersey, at least one individual, one community group and one township is showing support for police after the
shooting deaths of two New York City police officers in Brooklyn on Saturday.
At 6:30 p.m. at City Hall in Elizabeth, anti-violence advocates will hold a prayer vigil for the two NYPD officers, Wenjian Liu and Rafael Ramos. The vigil is being organized by Salaam Ismial, who has also
staged demonstrations critical of police.
"There is this feeling from some police around the country that the protests going on are anti-police," (
) said Ismial, the director of the National United Youth Council, Inc. "That’s not the case with the majority of us that have been participating in these protests."
Ismial said that tonight's vigil in honor of the two police officers is proof that even demands for change don't need to be adversarial.
"It’s with respect and tribute to two officers who died at the hands of a violent attack by a crazed individual," Ismial said.
In Middletown last night,
the Town Hall's lights went blue as a message of support for the police.
And Bolvito will again be out on the corner of Main Street and Route 27 in Metuchen at about 11 a.m., she said.
Several of Bolvito's family members are police officers, and she felt the urge to stand in the cold for three hours after the shooting deaths of two New York City cops.
"If you were in trouble, the first person to come aid you would be an officer," Bolvito said.
That played out in a small way Monday: Within 10 minutes of her being outside, a Metuchen police officer had brought her coffee.
The man accused of killing the two NYPD officers, Ismaaiyl Brinsley, suffered mental health problems, his family has told reporters. He posted anti-police sentiments on social media, and suggested that his plan was retribution for the deaths of Eric Garner and Michael Brown. Garner died while being taken into custody on Staten Island, and Brown was shot and killed in Ferguson, Mo. In both cases, the white police officer was not indicted for killing the unarmed black man, setting off weeks of protests.
The Brown and Garner cases prompted the protest refrain: Black lives matter.
For Bolvito, the Metuchen protestor whose rejoinder was "Blue lives matter," complaints about excessive force and police racism are unfounded.
"If you just do what they ask you to do, you’ll be fine, and if you don’t have anything to hide they’re not going to look for you," Bolvito said.
Brian Amaral may be reached at bamaral@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @bamaral44. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
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