Social media posts, security video help Atlantic City police find people charged with rioting and theft
Security video, photos from bystanders and social media posts helped police identify scores of people who would later be charged in connection with rioting and theft that took place May 31.
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ATLANTIC CITY — Security video, photos from bystanders, and social media posts helped police identify scores of people who would later be charged in connection with rioting and thefts on May 31.
Police said Thursday they had filed charges against 95 people in connecting with the disturbances, which occurred in the downtown area and an outlet mall district following a protest march.
Seventeen people were arrested that night, in which multiple outlet stores of clothing and footwear chains were among those targeted.
Photos and videos posted on social media showed young people running through smashed storefront windows and exiting with armfuls of clothing, shoes and other items.
On June 30, the police department sought assistance from the public, releasing photographs of more than 200 people it said were shown committing crimes. Tips began coming in “within minutes,” said Sgt. Kevin Fair, a police spokesman.
Some people shown in the photos turned themselves in, while others were identified by tipsters and were subsequently arrested. The cases remain pending in court, Fair said.
Police said 57 stores sustained damage totaling several million dollars in the outbreak of violence that followed a peaceful march to protest the death of George Floyd in police custody in Minnesota.
Police also said Thursday the ransacking of stores was not confined to the hours after the protest march. Stores that had been burglarized continued to sustain damage and thefts as people pulled plywood off the doors and stole merchandise, police said.
Mayor Marty Small Sr. praised the police effort as well as the assistance of the public.
“I want all residents and businesses in Atlantic City, as well as all visitors to our community, to know that Atlantic City will never accept or tolerate the kind of lawlessness that occurred at that time, and that everyone who was involved in the destruction of property and other illegal activity will be prosecuted vigorously and to the fullest extent of the law,” he said in a statement.