Police in a New Jersey shore town say “aggressive” behavior by large crowds of rowdy teens and young adults — rather than a lack of police officers — was to blame for disorder over the Memorial Day weekend. Attorney General Matthew Platkin alleged Friday that Wildwood didn’t have enough officers assigned to the boardwalk.
A police officer on a bicycle patrols the boardwalk in Seaside Heights, N.J., Friday, May 31, 2024. On Friday, New Jersey Attorney General Matt Platkin blamed the city of Wildwood, N.J. for not assigning enough police officers to patrol its boardwalk over the Memorial Day weekend when crowds of rowdy teens and young adults overwhelmed the city’s capability to respond to disturbances, forcing the boardwalk to be shut down overnight on Sunday, May 26.
Wildwood’s police chief, Joseph Murphy, and the department issued a statement the following day calling Platkin’s assertion “inaccurate and ill-informed.” They said the department had more than 30 uniformed officers assigned to the boardwalk, more than in the past two years, but disturbances involving hundreds or even thousands of young people began Saturday and continued Sunday despite the addition of even more officers, prompting an emergency declaration.
Police said they sought additional help from other Cape May law enforcement agencies after Saturday’s problems and had more than 40 law enforcement officers assigned to the boardwalk on Sunday night. Police said they cleared the boardwalk of juveniles after the 10 p.m. curfew, issuing several thousand warnings, but “a couple thousand” young adults remained.
Some Jersey Shore town police supervisors and other officials have blamed problems on changes the state has made in recent years to try to keep juveniles out of the court system, saying they have emboldened teens and given 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 dealing with juveniles suspected of possessing alcohol or marijuana.
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