Gun Passes Through Security at Newark Airport in New Jersey

My local newspaper, The Record of Bergen County, New Jersey ran an article this morning that told the story of a police officer who was arrested at the Cancun, Mexico airport for carrying his gun and several hollow-point bullets. The gun was in his luggage and was detected by security at Cancun International Airport.

Richard Cowen of The Record reported that the Wayne, New Jersey police officer Sgt. Andrew Verdon was on his honeymoon when the arrest happened. Sgt. Verdon and his wife had spent the first part of the honeymoon in Cape May, New Jersey and from there traveled to Cancun via Newark Liberty International Airport in Newark, New Jersey.

The Record states that the Passaic County Sheriff Jerry Speziale said that "a weapon to a police officer is like a wallet to a civilian". That is supposed to explain how Sgt. Verdon could forget that he was carrying a weapon on a plane.

What is even scarier and more disturbing is the fact that a gun was able to be brought onto a plane at Newark Airport. Where is our security in this post-9/11 world? Why didn't the security guards detect the weapon and the bullets when Verdon arrived at the security area? How many other people with weapons have been able to pass through security at Newark Airport or other airports?

There are a lot of questions to be answered here. Our security is at risk. For more details on this story, click here.