I agree, @B00ger got me to thinking about this differently. We had a post on here a while back where an officer in DC (maybe like the parking garage at the Smithsonian?) saw/found/discovered a weapon and let the citizen leave town quietly. He didn't get a felony charge for something that wasn't even illegal ten miles south of there. Maybe in this NJ situation, the officer wasn't able to do that because other officers were present and overheard, or it was somehow recorded. I expect that management wouldn't look kindly on an officer looking the other way from an obvious felony charge.
The whole idea of getting busted for something you own, vs. something you do, is just stupid anyway. Just having it shouldn't be a crime; doing something bad with it should be.
I wonder if the officer was wearing a Body Cam with sound and if they review the recordings. it would make it hard for the officer to use discretion if there is a recording of him telling about a Illegal gun