Ocean Metropolis officers stated Monday they’re exploring each possibility they will to scale back the quantity of unhealthy conduct at an unofficial automobile occasion this weekend that drew a whole bunch of automobile fans to the resort city.
A Monday information convention by Mayor Rick Meehan and Ocean Metropolis Police Chief Ross Buzzuro got here after a busy weekend for police through which hundreds of individuals got here to unofficially have fun H2Oi. The official H2Oi present befell in many areas in Worcester County earlier than formally shifting to Atlantic Metropolis, New Jersey, in 2018.
All through the weekend crowds and police had a number of interactions, at occasions resulting in violence.
Most of the streets of Ocean Metropolis had been stuffed with vehicles leaving smoky burnouts or individuals setting off fireworks on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
A type of incidents occurred on Saturday when legislation enforcement tried to interrupt up crowds gathering alongside Baltimore Avenue. Throughout the course of, Ashley Miller, deputy communications supervisor for OCPD stated the gang started to throw rocks at police and one particular person jumped on a police car. In response police used a kind of pepper spray with a robust odor to disperse the individuals.
One other incident that acquired consideration on-line concerned a police officer utilizing his Taser to arrest a topic. On Monday, Buzzuro stated the division was reviewing the incident.
Miller did not touch upon the incident Tuesday including that the matter was nonetheless going via a departmental evaluation.
Total, police made about 121 arrests throughout the weekend, in line with preliminary knowledge from OCPD.
In line with knowledge launched Tuesday by OCPD, past the arrests there have been greater than 1,500 citations issued and a couple of,933 requires service.
Miller stated Tuesday {that a} viral incident involving a BMW hanging two bystanders on Baltimore Avenue on Friday was not a success and run. The motive force Josiah Ament of Lititz, Pennsylvania was cited for the incident and launched.
Associated:Unofficial H2Oi: BMW hits pedestrians, police say
Meehan likened the glut of points this weekend to a “storm” and stated he felt he and different full-time residents of the city “had been underneath siege.”
Whereas the occasion has roots in Worcester County that date again almost 20 years, Buzzuro stated the extent of points with individuals associated to H2Oi has escalated over the last three years, coinciding with the departure of the official occasion.
He added that in this weekend, the division had the best quantity of Ocean Metropolis cops on obligation in its historical past to assist management incidents.
“The extent of disruption is one thing we have by no means seen,” he stated.
Meehan and Buzzuro each stated as a way to stop the identical points from taking place in 2020, they’ll once more attraction to make legal guidelines stricter to function a deterrent, which could embody increased fines.
Extra:Unofficial H2Oi: Ocean City mayor vows it ‘can’t happen again’
Meehan stated state and federal lawmakers have already reached out to Ocean Metropolis asking about how they might help, together with Gov. Larry Hogan. He additionally stated he has the backing of the City Council and lots of companies within the space.
“All the things is on the desk for discussing,” Meehan stated on potential modifications.
