Jersey Shore Police: ‘Aggressive’ crowds, not lack of police, caused problems on Memorial weekend

WILDWOOD, NJ (AP) — Police in a coastal New Jersey town said Saturday that the Memorial Day weekend unrest that led to the closure of the boardwalk was not caused by a lack of police officers but by the “aggressive” behavior of large crowds of violent teenagers and young adults.

Attorney General Matthew Platkin claimed Friday that Wildwood did not have enough officers assigned to the boardwalk. Officials said unrest on Sunday led to the boardwalk being closed overnight and asked neighboring police departments for assistance.

Wildwood Police Chief Joseph Murphy and the police department issued a statement the following day calling Platkin’s claim “inaccurate and ill-informed.” They said the police department had assigned more than 30 uniformed officers to the boardwalk, more than it had in the past two years. However, rioting involving hundreds or even thousands of young people broke out on Saturday and, despite the additional officers, continued into Sunday, leading to the declaration of a state of emergency.

The statement from Murphy and the police said the “disheartening truth” was that this year’s crowds had been “disobedient, unpredictable and aggressive towards police officers” and even threw firecrackers at police in an attempt to control the crowd.

“We even observed families fleeing from the boardwalk to the beach and running behind the railings because hundreds of teenagers and young adults were rushing down the boardwalk in a panic,” Wildwood officials said. “Even if we had deployed more than the 30 officers we deployed, it would have been difficult to quell this type of mob behavior.”

Police said they enlisted additional help from other Cape May law enforcement agencies after Saturday’s unrest and deployed more than 40 officers to the boardwalk on Sunday night. Police said they cleared the boardwalk of youths after the 10 p.m. curfew and issued several thousand warnings, but “a couple thousand” young adults remained. Officers decided to declare a local state of emergency after midnight and were then able to quell “much of the unrest” on the boardwalk and surrounding streets, they said.

Over the holiday weekend, Wildwood police handled 312 calls for service, responded to 1,517 calls for service, issued thousands of warnings to juveniles and made 47 arrests. More arrests are expected after identification, officials said. One officer was injured but is expected to make a full recovery.

Some police chiefs and other Jersey Shore city officials have attributed the problems to changes the state has made in recent years to keep juveniles out of the court system. They say these have emboldened youths and created the impression that police can do little if they are caught with alcohol or marijuana. In January, the law was revised to remove some threats of punishment for officers who deal with juveniles suspected of alcohol or marijuana possession.

Platkin defended the law at an event Friday where boardwalk gambling operations are reviewed to ensure they comply with state regulations. He said there is nothing stopping police from arresting juveniles involved in violent acts. He said Wildwood has “hired fewer police officers this year than it has ever hired before.”

Wildwood’s safety commissioner said all departments are short staffed and that additional officers currently in the police academy will be hired this month. Wildwood police assured that public safety will be their “top priority” during the summer season.

Meanwhile, Ocean City saw its second consecutive day of unrest over Memorial Day weekend, including the stabbing of a 15-year-old boy who was reportedly recovering from non-life-threatening injuries. Mayor Jay Gillian said on the city’s website that police had booked 23 youths for fighting, shoplifting and other offenses and issued more than 1,300 warnings for alcohol, cannabis, curfew and other violations.