OCEAN CITY – Though there was a spike in population estimates last month, the Ocean City Police Department’s crime reports reflect overall decrease in criminal activity during the month of April.
At Monday’s Police Commission meeting, Police Chief Ross Buzzuro reported April’s total calls for service, including traffic stops, business checks and assistance to citizens, totaled 3,535, which is a 13.1-percent decrease from April 2013 when there were 4,067 calls for service. Out of that total, 2,606 were officer initiated, which is a 15-percent decrease from April 2013, and 929 were citizen initiated, which is a 7.3-percent decrease from April 2013.
The total number of calls for service, excluding traffic stops, business checks and assisting citizens, totaled 2,086, which is a 2.3-percent decrease from April 2013 when there were 2,136 calls for service. Out of the total, 1,204 were officer initiated, which is a .5-percent increase from April 2013, and 882 were citizen initiated, which is a 6-percent decrease from April 2013.
Out of the top 25 calls for service, the number of categories that increased and decreased were balanced in April.
The categories showing an increase start with 911 hang ups, increasing from 118 in April of 2013 to 143 in April of 2014; collisions rose from 49 last year to 52 this year; thefts that already occurred grew to 46 this year compared to 40 last year; assist to motorists increased from 36 last year to 43 this year; CDS violations rose from 23 last year to 30 this year; there were 24 city ordinance violations this year compared to 21 last year; breaking and entering increased from three last year to 18 this year; malicious destruction of property rose from 12 last year to 17 this year; there were 14 noise complaints or violations last year compared to 16 this year ; trespassing increased from 13 last year to 15 this year; telephone misuse rose from two last year to four this year; and report of forgery increased from two last year to three last year.
Coded calls for service that decreased included assist to citizen from 167 in April of 2013 to 100 in April of 2014; suspicious person or activity declined from 117 last year to 99 this year; assist to OC EMS decreased from 105 last year to 77 this year; disorderly reduced from 100 last year to 65 this year; assists to the fire company declined from 39 last year to 34 this year; warrant attempt or arrest decreased from 57 last year to 21 this year; domestic assault/dispute lessened from 30 last year to 20 this year; civil dispute declined from 31 last year to 19 this year; DWI investigate and/or arrest decreased from 19 last year to 15 this year; assault already occurred reduced from 12 last year to nine this year; lost property report dropped from six last year to four this year; and forgery of any kind decreased from 17 last year to three this year.
The category of parking complaints/violations remained the same with 16 calls for service in both April of 2013 and 2014.
There were 86 arrests made in April and 26 criminal citations issued. There were 16 drug arrests made and 20 drug citations. There were 19 DUI arrests made and five weapon arrests, according to OCPD data.
Four months into the year, a weekly breakdown reflects a 13.1-percent decrease in total crime this year compared to last year.
Under Part 1 Crimes, there have been no homicides compared to one this time last year; no shootings in both April of 2013 and 2014; two forcible rapes in both 2013 and 2014; no robberies in both years; seven aggravated assaults compared to six this time last year; burglaries increased to 75 in April this year from 38 last year; larceny decreased to 75 from 117 last year; three auto thefts compared to four last year; and there were no cases of arson in both April of 2013 and 2014.
Buzzuro furthered, there have been 71 common assaults so far this year compared to 103 this time last year and five minor sex offenses so far this year compared to three last year, resulting in an overall total of 238 crimes at of the end of April this year compared to 274 at the end of April in 2013.
For comparison, the weekly average population estimates in Ocean City in April produced by Demoflush was 112,949 this year, which is a 21.3-percent increase from last year.
There were three incidents in March and April where a Controlled Electronic Weapon (CEW), also known as a Taser, was involved.
On March 14, an officer conducted a routine traffic stop and the driver of the vehicle being pulled over became agitated. The officer removed his CEW from his holster, pointing it toward the ground. The driver visually and verbally acknowledged the CEW and immediately calmed down and got back into his vehicle, per the officer’s order.
On March 16, officers were dispatched to a report of a fight outside of a bar. Upon arrival, officers observed a bouncer wrestling with an intoxicated patron on the ground. Officers immediately separated both parties, but the suspect continued to struggle against the officer, who was attempting to hold him down. Another officer targeted the suspect with his CEW, which gained immediate compliance. There were no injuries to anyone involved, with the exception of two minor cuts on the suspect’s nose from wrestling with the bouncer.
On April 20, an officer was flagged down by a taxi cab driver regarding a fight in progress outside of a nearby bar. Upon arrival to the scene of the fight, security staff was frantically flagging the officer down to assist with the situation. The officer observed the intoxicated suspect punching and attacking the victim, as well as swinging a metal pipe at the victim. The victim was trying to run away from the suspect the entire time. The victim tripped and fell to the ground. The suspect then kicked the victim and struck the victim in the head with the metal pipe. The officer immediately ran over and shouted for the suspect to drop the pipe. The suspect did not drop the pipe and the officer deployed his CEW into the suspect’s torso, causing the suspect to drop the pipe. The suspect immediately complied with the officer’s demands without further incident.