County and Middle Leaders Call for Taskforce to Prevent Another H2oi

COURT HOUSE – Citing the need for a county-wide approach to address residents’ and visitors’ concerns, Middle Township Mayor Tim Donohue was joined by County Commissioner Len Desiderio and County Office of Emergency Management Director Martin Pagliughi in calling for the formation of a regional task force to investigate the events leading up to a weekend of lawless and unsanctioned pop-up car rallies in Cape May County. 
The chain of events that spanned the weekend of Sept. 23-25 left two people dead and several others seriously injured and caused extensive property damage in Wildwood.
“While the Wildwood Police Department struggled to maintain order, Middle Township and other Cape May County communities were also forced to mobilize extensive resources, call for mutual aid and fund staff overtime to deal with a constant barrage of challenges and complaints related to these flagrant violations of the law, all coordinated via social media,” Donohue said. “The criminal element within these groups, from outside our county, with absolutely zero respect for the law or for the safety and welfare of our communities, must be prosecuted to the fullest extent.”
Desiderio indicated that task force organizers would reach out to local and county elected officials and law enforcement agencies to discuss details on the makeup and mission of the proposed group.
“The people we serve are rightfully demanding answers,” Desiderio said. “We must be open and transparent as we take steps to determine how and why these dangerous and ultimately tragic events occurred.”
Pagliughi said his office is already coordinating with the Cape May County Sheriff’s Office and the CMC Chiefs of Police Association to gather data and statistics from several municipalities on their response to the so-called H2Oi car meetups.
“We need to build consensus on a regional plan to ensure this can never happen again in our hometowns,” Pagliughi said. “This task force will be challenged to develop an effective and unified approach that leaves no window of opportunity open in any Cape May County municipality for a recurrence of this type of dangerous mayhem and lawlessness.”