Well one alleged shoplifter who couldn’t keep her damn mouth shut, and who resorted to using bigoted and homophobic slurs against a Kearny police detective, later found herself in handcuffs, caused a scene for a considerable amount of time and then, when all was said and done, was released on her own recognizance, free to bring her kind ways to others.
And perhaps this should make the detective a leading candidate for Officer of the Year for dealing with this nonsense.
Here’s how this spectacular incident of police restraint all went down, according to the KPD:
On Feb. 16, 2025, at approximately 8:30 p.m., Det. Jordenson Jean was working an off-duty detail at ShopRite in full police uniform when store staff alerted him to a woman attempting to leave after paying for only 11 items while having a cart full of merchandise.
Det. Jean and a store manager detained the woman, later identified as Shmar H. Smith, 46, of Newark.
Det. Jean recognized Smith from at least one prior shoplifting incident. She was informed she was being detained while the merchandise was sorted out. However, as the store manager attempted to separate the paid items from the unpaid ones, Smith repeatedly interfered, grabbing items from the manager and attempting to conceal them in her large bag.
Both the detective and the manager repeatedly tried to reason with her, but she refused to comply. Smith conceded she shoplifted; however, she would not let ShopRite take their merchandise back. Since ShopRite staff were unable to recover the stolen merchandise or determine its total value, and Smith refused to comply with all reasonable requests, the decision was made to place her under arrest.
Sgt. Kyle Plaugic and Officer Renzo Sosa later arrived on the scene to assist. At this point, Smith became increasingly agitated and began shouting that she was “being arrested for nothing,” despite acknowledging her thefts.
She then alleged racism — which in her mind was not good and despite the sheer reality the detective, himself, is Black — and directed homophobic slurs — which she apparently thought was perfectly fine in this case — at the officers throughout the incident, including calling Det. Jean, “gay-ass black f*g” and a “black f****t.”
While being handcuffed, she resisted arrest, dropped to the ground and then complained the handcuffs were too tight — but then refused to allow officers to adjust them. Officers had already used two pairs of handcuffs to extend the chain length for comfort.
Even after adjustments, Smith continued to yell in the parking lot, arguing shoplifters are allowed to pay for stolen items to avoid arrest. (Please note —this is not the case at all).
During transport to the Kearny Police Department, she kicked seats and the partition inside the patrol vehicle while continuing to scream and fire off homophobic slurs. She also gave statements about having a dog in her vehicle, but when officers attempted to locate her car for safety concerns, she refused to provide any details and became hostile.
Upon arrival at headquarters, Smith refused to exit the vehicle, stating she would not comply because the officer who arrested her was a “black f****t”and “gay as hell,” adding that her mother “would spit on him.” She also called the officer a “retarded N-word,” while claiming she knew shoplifting laws better than the police.
Sgt. Plaugic worked to de-escalate the situation, and she was eventually seated in the processing area. Despite repeated inquiries from Plaugic about her vehicle and the alleged dog inside, Smith refused to cooperate. She was charged with shoplifting and resisting arrest and after all this, she was released from custody shortly after processing.
The value of the unpaid merchandise was determined to be approximately $65 — meaning had she cooperated with store management, she likely could have avoided arrest.
Meanwhile, according to an nj.com report, 10 years ago, the same Smith was arrested and charged with possession of $15,000 worth of drugs in a police raid where 2,200 packets of heroin, 64 grams of cocaine, Oxycodone, weapons and paraphernalia were recovered.
The disposition of that case could not be determined.
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Kevin A. Canessa Jr. is the editor of and broadcaster at The Observer, an organization he has served since 2006. He is responsible for the editorial content of the newspaper and website, the production of the e-Newspaper, writing several stories per week (including the weekly editorial), conducting live broadcasts on social media channels such as YouTube, Facebook, and X, including a weekly recap of the news — and much more behind the scenes. Between 2006 and 2008, he introduced the newspaper to its first-ever blog — which included podcasts, audio and video. Originally from Jersey City, Kevin lived in Kearny until 2004, lived in Port St. Lucie. Florida, for four years until February 2016 and in March of that year, he moved back to Kearny to return to The Observer full time. Click Here to send Kevin an email.