Sounds like the cops went overboard on these two, and then had to back track and claim that it was only because of Christie's "State of Emergency."
You’re probably right on both counts. In Chicago, though, there are ordinances in place that require home and business owners to shovel snow. This can be a problem for the elderly. Thankfully, I don’t get fined for shoveling my elderly neighbors’ walkways and stoops. I’m in my 60s and the neighbors I help are in their 80s; no young folks (teens or twenty-somethings) volunteer to help them.