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Wildwood police chief says attorney general’s comments about Wildwood crowds are ‘ill-informed’

Attorney General Matt Platkin said the chaos over Memorial Day weekend was due to a lack of police officers.

Matt Trapani

Jun 3, 2024, 9:38 PM

Updated 200 days ago

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There is some finger-pointing going on over how Wildwood dealt with large crowds over Memorial Day weekend.
The number of people on the boardwalk and beach caused officials to declare a state of emergency. The situation has some law enforcement departments divided. Police in Wildwood are criticizing Attorney General Matt Platkin over comments he made regarding the event.
"I don't think we had enough law enforcement officers out in Wildwood [over Memorial Day]. We are working to correct that and make sure that they have the resources they need to do what they need to do to keep their boardwalk safe,” Platkin said.
Wildwood Police Chief Joseph Murphy says that these comments are inaccurate and ill-informed.
“We were alarmed at such a statement from the chief law enforcement officer in the state of New Jersey, especially knowing that he did not directly contact us to understand what resources were in place for the weekend,” Murphy wrote in a statement.
The chief says that there were more than 40 police officers on the boardwalk the night officials declared the state of emergency.
Platkin’s office did not wish to comment on Murphy’s statement.