June 30, 2015
Ocean County Prosecutor's Office/Facebook
This picture of a cell phone case that looks like a handgun sparked a viral discussion on the Ocean County Prosecutor's Facebook page.
The Ocean County Prosecutor's Office is concerned about a cell phone case that looks like a handgun and is urging residents not to protect their devices with one of these potentially deceiving accessories.
In a Facebook post Monday, the office posted a picture of the phone case, which holds a device in what looks like the barrel of a handgun, with the rest of the case in the shape of a what appears to be a realistic replica of a firearm.
The post writes that the case is not a good idea, and stresses the potentially life-threatening situation it could pose during a routine traffic stop.
A police officer's job is hard enough, without having to make a split-second decision in the dark of night when someone decides without thinking to pull this out while stopped for a motor vehicle violation.
While the Ocean County Prosecutor's Office said it had not dealt with any specific incidents with the phone case, Communications Director Al Della Fave said after seeing the item on a website for retired law enforcement officials, he felt compelled to post it.
"It just made me think 'Oh my god! This is an accident waiting to happen,'" Della Fave said.
I Phone Gun Case: NOT A GOOD IDEA - PLEASE NO 👎 pic.twitter.com/ykQ2Uy0pnM
— Al Della Fave (@AlDellaFave) June 29, 2015
Della Fave noted that as seen in the picture, if kids are keeping the phone case in their back pocket, that's the same place where someone usually would pull a concealed weapon, heightening his concern over its potential dangers.
"It's going to sound funny, but the first thing I thought of was that old Saturday Night Live skit with Dan Akroyd," Della Fave said, referring to a skit in which Akroyd's character sells dangerous toys to children. "I could imagine him pulling it out and saying to kids: 'Hey kids, you can point this all over the place!'"
The official manufacturer of the product is unclear, however, it is marketed on eBay for less than $10.
Della Fave said he was encouraged by the response to the Facebook post, which has been shared more than 6,000 times and has more than 1,000 comments.
"I'm happy in seeing that every comment has said that it's insane or crazy, with no one supporting the product."
