New Jersey prison officials have issued a chilling warning to the state’s urban police departments, saying their cops could be victimized by murderous street gangs waging new turf wars, it was reported yesterday.
The notorious Bloods gang has launched an “aggressive [new] posture toward law enforcement” that includes an “uprising” in the state’s biggest cities and in the jails, Department of Corrections investigators told the Star-Ledger newspaper.
As a result, State Police will meet tomorrow with local police to discuss the warning.
In the past last month, three Newark cops have been shot by Bloods, police said. The most recent was Detective Orlando Velasquez, who was shot Tuesday.
Cities being targeted by the street gangs include Newark, Jersey City, Patterson, East Orange and Irvington.
But Ron Holvey of the DOC’s special investigations division stressed the alert was issued to simply “heighten awareness” among cops of the Bloods’ increased call for violence.
The warning was issued in the wake of information amassed by prison officials about a new Bloods power struggle.
West Coast Bloods members are trying to wrest control of New Jersey chapters, which have normally been tied to New York-based Bloods gangs, according to a law-enforcement bulletin.