Ciattarelli blasts Murphy for blaming A.C. crime spike on Covid, humidity

Crime is so bad right now in the Boardwalk Empire that the city has decided to announce a nightly juvenile curfew with sirens.

On Monday, Phil Murphy – whose administration is still running Atlantic City, and intends to maintain state control – says you can blame COVID-19. And humidity.

“There’s a lot of behavior right now. I suspect partly, if not a lot, due to coming out from the pandemic; 95 degree, high humidity weather does not help,” Murphy said. “There’s a lot of kinetic activity in the state right now and in the country.”

“We’ve seen upticks in gun violence in the state, in the country. We’ve just got to plead with people we get it,” Murphy added. “Everybody wants to get out there and unshackle themselves from this pandemic.”

Got that?

The pandemic and humidity. It’s always humid in South Jersey. We were underwater for thousands of years! The humidity didn’t start this year.

Republican nominee Jack Ciattarelli says the real issue is a lack of respect for law enforcement, and the bucks stops with the Governor himself.

“Once again, Governor Phil Murphy’s response, this time on New Jersey’s rising crime rate, is totally unacceptable and profoundly embarrassing,” said Ciattarelli in a statement. “There is one reason crime is on the rise and it’s not the pandemic, the heat, the humidity, or any other made-up excuse – it’s Governor Phil Murphy. Our Governor’s actions, policies, and words have undermined public respect for, and the authority of, our brave men and women in law enforcement. The sad reality is that Atlantic City and our communities across the state will continue to get more dangerous so long as we have a governor who panders to the extremists in his national party, all at the expense of public safety in our state.”

Ciattarelli’s criticism was echoed by former Assemblyman and current LD-2 Republican Senate nominee Vince Polistina.

“Governor Murphy is clueless on this topic and [Democrat state Senator] Vince Mazzeo should have the guts to call him out on it. The spike in crime in Atlantic City isn’t about COVID or the weather, it’s about a Democratic Party across this country that has targeted our brave law enforcement as scapegoats and consistently undermines the rule of law,” said Polistina. “When Vince Mazzeo sides with radicals in Trenton who accuse our police of being the bad guys, and give the real bad guys a pass, runaway crime is the result.  Time for new leadership in Trenton.”

Meanwhile the ACPD is reportedly asking for more manpower.

Matt Rooney
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MATT ROONEY is SaveJersey.com's founder and editor-in-chief, a practicing New Jersey attorney, and the host of 'The Matt Rooney Show' on 1210 WPHT every Sunday evening from 7-10PM EST.