The murder of rookie cop Melvin Santiago over the weekend has brought a lot of attention to the escalating violence taking place in Jersey City.
Santiago was shot by a fame seeking criminal early Sunday morning in front of a Walgreens on the corner of John F. Kennedy Boulevard and Communipaw Avenue.
Controversy ignited when a makeshift memorial was put up by family and friends to honor the cop killer. Mayor Steven Fulop called this display disgusting and later had the memorial taken down.
Now, tension between the Jersey City community and the local police is rising. Local law enforcement has received credible threats from Jersey City gangs calling for other gangs across the state to kill more police officers.
Earlie Harrel or the Almighty Blood Messiah is a high ranking member of the Blood gang and hes doing what he can to spread the word of peace among people on the streets. He chimed in on this latest battle taking place in the Garden State.
Police are gonna use force, theyre gonna win because theyre gonna have the law and all the government support to come in and get you guys and theyre always going to be able to put in the media that you have a criminal record or whatever to deface you, he said to people gathered on the streets.