TOMS RIVER – Police said that while most of the people visiting the shore area on July 4th weekend were just enjoying their visit lawfully, there were issues with theft, assault, underage drinking, and littering.
Jillian Messina, public relations for the department, shared two incidents where large groups of kids caused problems.
One was on Sunday, July 3, at around 11:30 p.m., which is after the town’s curfew. There were more than 40 kids refusing to leave the area of E. Colony Road and South Surf Road known as Silver Beach. Private security called the police. When officers arrived, the group dispersed mostly without incident.
One man, while leaving, began to shout obscenities. When an officer told him to be quiet, the man stole a decorative sign from the front of a home. Police said that when he was told to stop, he ran and was chased on foot.
Andre Baskapan, 18, of Park Ridge, NJ was arrested and charged with Theft, Resisting Arrest, and Disorderly Conduct. During the arrest, he told police he was a juvenile.
On Monday, July 4, at around 9 p.m., a crowd of approximately 400-500 kids had gathered on the beach and boardwalk near 4th Avenue. Police had responded to the area for a report of a fight, possibly involving a knife, but that appears to be unfounded.
As officers started to clear the crowd just before the 11 p.m. curfew, most of them walked in the middle of the road, blocking traffic. Police tried to get them to move off the road. A 16-year-old girl cursed off one of the officers and attempted to hit him.
The officer took the girl to the side of the road as she struggled, yelled, and struck him. She was arrested and placed in a squad car. The crowd of kids watching began to yell, throw rocks and otherwise attempted to interfere.
The girl, who was from Millburn, was handed over to her mother, who said she was aware her underaged daughter would have a couple of alcoholic drinks while at the beach that evening. The girl was charged with a curfew violation, Disorderly Conduct, and Resisting Arrest.
Local residents woke up to property damage and the area littered with garbage such as alcohol containers. The Public Works Department came out to help.
“Our beach community is enjoyed by residents and guests year round, and while we welcome visitors from near and far, we will not tolerate disrespect and destruction. Please do not drop off children and leave them without supervision,” police said. “This is becoming an increasing issue with most shore towns, it is not just in our area. Social media definitely fuels the gatherings to levels we haven’t seen before. We are taking a measured response to the issue and providing more coverage in our beach community. Fortunately, the State and acting Attorney General have recognized the need for assistance and have opened a line of communication in partnership with the Prosecutor’s Office and law enforcement agencies.”
The police released statistics on the total number of incidents for the weekend, but cautioned that these are just those that are reported. There were 628 calls for service. Of these, 195 – almost a third – were in the beach area.
There were 34 juvenile calls for the entire town, 24 of which were at the beach.
There were 75 disorderly conduct calls for the entire town, of which 11 were at the beach.
There were 108 fireworks calls for the entire town, of which three were at the beach.
