OCEAN CITY — Ocean City police officers participating in a ride-along program on the resort’s municipal bus system had a busy weekend with a pair of incidents a couple hours apart.
Each summer, the Ocean City Police Department (OCPD) puts officers on municipal buses in a ride-along program to monitor illicit activity and to ensure safety. In some cases, the officers are undercover and interact with passengers and in other cases, they are in full uniform.
Around 10:55 p.m. last Saturday, an uniformed officer was on a municipal bus when it stopped at a red light at 45th Street. The officer observed Jeffery Fedor, 30, of New York Mills, N.Y., run across Coastal Highway and attempt to board the bus. Fedor became aggravated that he was not allowed to board the bus and began pounding on the glass doors with closed fists. When the light turned green, the bus proceeded north and Fedor reportedly ran to the next bus stop at 46th Street.
However, when it stopped, Fedor was told by the officer and the bus driver that he was not allowed on board because of his aggressive behavior. Fedor allegedly grabbed the officer with both of his hands and shoved him backward, causing him to lose his balance and nearly fall into the bus driver. Fedor then left the bus and began walking north along Coastal Highway.
The officer followed Fedor, telling him he was under arrest, but Fedor did not stop and continued walking without acknowledging the officer. The OCPD officer caught up to Fedor and grabbed him near the entrance to a hotel, but Fedor allegedly resisted and shoved the officer again, pushing him in the chest with both hands, according to police reports.
The altercation spilled into a nearby bank parking lot where the officer reportedly grabbed Fedor around his torso and tackled him. While the officer was holding Fedor and waiting for backup to arrive, Fedor reportedly tried to reach for the officer’s equipment, grabbing his baton. The officer moved his hand to his handgun to keep Fedor from gaining access to his weapon.
During the altercation, Fedor grabbed the radio from the officer’s chest, ripping the earpiece from his ear during the process. Fedor was ultimately subdued and charged with two counts of second-degree assault, resisting arrest, disorderly conduct and malicious destruction of property.
A couple hours later around 1 a.m. on Sunday, another OCPD officer was on uniformed patrol on a municipal bus when he observed three individuals on the bus stop at 72nd Street, one of whom was holding an open can of beer.
According to police reports, the officer got off the bus and told Shane Wiedel, 23, of Sykesville, Md., he was in violation of a city ordinance and instructed him to throw the open can of beer in the trash nearby. At first, the man was defiant, but ultimately threw the beer away when informed he could be arrested.
The uniformed OCPD officer then got back on the bus. Wiedel and the other men began walking away from the bus stop after being told to leave the area, but a female that was with them, identified as Brooke Ricks, 21, of Ocean City, entered the bus and informed the officer she and the two men were going to ride the bus. According to police reports, the officer told Ricks to leave the bus and go with her friends, but she told the officer she was a local and was going to ride.
The officer escorted Ricks off the bus and got back on, but Ricks reportedly grabbed hold of the door and would not let go. According to police reports, the officer got off the bus again and instructed Ricks to leave the area and join her friends and go home or back to wherever they were staying.
Meanwhile, Wiedel and the other man who had walked away returned, and Wiedel reportedly voiced his concern about the officer escorting Ricks off the bus. The officer repeatedly told the argumentative Wiedel to leave the area, but he refused and was ultimately arrested on the original open container charge.
During the arrest, Ricks and the other man continued to approach the officer, interfering with his ability to detain Wiedel.
The officer repeatedly told Ricks and the other man to stand back. The other man complied but Ricks did not, according to police reports. Instead, Ricks continued to interfere with the arrest of Wiedel despite being told multiple times to stand back. Meanwhile, the incident was attracting the attention of numerous people in the shopping center nearby.
Ricks was ultimately told she was being arrested for disorderly conduct and hindering an arrest, but she reportedly resisted and remained uncooperative. After the officer warned he would use his electronic control device on her, Ricks complied and she was taken into custody. Wiedel was charged with obstructing and hindering, disorderly conduct and failure to obey a lawful order, while Ricks was charged with disorderly conduct, resisting arrest, obstructing and hindering and failure to obey a lawful order.
