PRICEY PROTEST

New Jersey Mayor Retracts $2,500 Police Overtime Bill to Teen Organizer of a BLM Protest

The 18-year-old said she notified officials of her small event ahead of time and was shocked to later get a bill for it.

Following outrage over a $2,500 police overtime bill that was sent to a New Jersey teen for organizing a small Black Lives Matter protest, the mayor of the city retracted the invoice. Eighteen-year-old activist Emily Gil said she had never requested a police presence at the demonstration attended by about 30 people, though she did notify authorities beforehand. Four days later, she received a bill that read, “Please promptly forward your payment to the borough in the amount of $2,499.26 for the police overtime caused by your protest,” NJ.com reports. The letter, reportedly penned by Englewood Cliffs Mayor Mario Kranjac, goes on to state that the “lack of notification” about the protest left police with “little time” to prepare. Kranjac said the bill was routine. “If anyone does an event in town, we bill them,” Kranjac was quoted as saying by ABC7. Kranjac declined to say why the bill was later rescinded.