#New Jersey official takes stand against ‘defunding’ cops at 9/11 memorial

New Jersey is doing what New York won’t when it comes to defending its cops.

NJ Lt. Gov. Sheila Oliver — Gov. Phil Murphy’s right-hand woman and the state’s highest-ranking black official — choked back tears at a 9/11 memorial service Friday as she pledged that the state would never support efforts to “defund’’ its police, NJ.com reported.

“To law enforcement, I want to share a message with you: We need you, we appreciate you, and want you to know with all the noise that’s going on, we will never defund you,” Oliver told a small in-person audience, as well as online crowd, at Eagle Rock Reservation in West Orange — where a touching memorial includes all of the terror-attack victims’ names overlooking a bluff against a city backdrop.

“Our first responders are the ones that paid a price on that day,” an emotional Oliver said.

“Can you imagine going up 70, 80, 90 flights of stairs to carry people down? Can you think about people [who] worked in those buildings who were in wheelchairs and couldn’t get out? It was the first responders that saved lives.”

Her comments were met with applause.

It was the first time a Murphy administration official has taken a definitive public stance on the controversial issue tied to the Black Lives Matter movement — while Empire State officials have either tried to play both sides of it or taken steps toward defunding, as in the case of New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio.

The City Council passed a budget in a deal with de Blasio in July that included a $1 billion funding cut for the NYPD.

“As we emerge from the epicenter of COVID-19, it’s now more important than ever to create a fairer city for all,” the mayor said in announcing his spending plan.

A few weeks earlier, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said, “Defund the police — OK, what does that mean? How do we do that?”

“Community by community by community,” the governor said at the mid-June press conference, as unrest grew over the death of unarmed black man George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis cops.

“There’s no right or wrong. I’m not going ot tell anyone what they should do. They should do what they want to do. They should design a police force that works for them.”

As for Murphy, he has publicly only said community groups need more money, as opposed to taking funding away from cops.