After 'violent' H2Oi, lawmakers suggest protecting police under hate crime statute

The tire smoke has cleared and the streets have quieted after what may seem like one of the longest weekends of the year for Ocean City.

The speed limit on Coastal Highway may have returned to normal, but that doesn’t mean the Maryland resort town is done dealing with the fallout of the unofficial H2Oi rally.

A statement from the Ocean City Police Department called the unsanctioned gathering “unruly” and “violent." Even Gov. Larry Hogan chimed in with a Monday morning statement saying, “that we will not tolerate such brazen violence and wanton disrespect for our law enforcement officers, communities and law-abiding citizens.”

More than 300 cars were towed and 277 arrests were made throughout the weekend. Social media videos of the Saturday night action in downtown Ocean City showed illegal fireworks lighting up the sky as crowds descended on Baltimore and Philadelphia avenues, where police had cut off traffic in an effort to maintain control. 

One state trooper was taken to the hospital after being knocked unconscious when they fell to the ground with a suspect fleeing arrest Saturday, and a local photographer captured footage of an individual jumping on the back of another trooper during a Friday night arrest.

More on H2Oi

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This is the fourth year in a row that the town has seen an influx of visitors in the last weekend of September, despite the cancellation, then relocation of the official H2Oi car show to New Jersey. This unofficial pop-up rally is now orchestrated primarily through social media, with no event organizer to turn to or hold accountable for the aftermath.

State lawmakers representing the Eastern Shore community have been reacting to the chaos in Ocean City as they ponder what they can do at the legislative level to lend town officials a helping hand in the future.

Delegate Wayne Hartman, R-38C, posted a video Sunday afternoon announcing he plans to pursue legislation that would add law enforcement to those protected under Maryland’s hate crime statute.

He rode along with OCPD on Friday and the Worcester County Sheriff’s Office on Saturday to get a front-row view of what took place in Ocean City.

Though laws have already been passed to enhance the penalties law enforcement can dish out during this unsanctioned meetup, Hartman stressed he feels more needs to be done based on what he witnessed.

It was typical to see at least a dozen officers, troopers or deputies responding to a single incident, he explained in the video.

“And oftentimes — not once or twice, but more the norm — those law enforcement officers were met with rocks, frozen water bottles, beer cans, fireworks and Roman candles and so forth being shot at them. Behavior that I never thought I’d see in Ocean City,” he said.

Maryland’s hate crime statute can be applied in cases in which a crime has been committed or a person has been threatened with a crime based on their “race, color, religious beliefs, sexual orientation, gender, disability or national origin, or because another person or group is homeless.”

When an act is prosecuted as a hate crime, the defendant can face enhanced penalties if a certain legal burden of proof is met.

H2Oi 2020 begins:Crowds take over parts of downtown Ocean City as unofficial car rally escalates

Unofficial H2Oi:Clash with police, steep tickets and tow fees highlight Friday night

The downward spiral of H2Oi:From car show to social media-driven 'havoc' in Ocean City

The next session of the Maryland General Assembly doesn’t start until January 2021 so it’s not clear yet exactly how this kind of legislation would play out, but Hartman said he plans to work with local and state leaders on crafting this measure and others.

“That’ll be an additional tool that our law enforcement will have next year. When they’re met with this kind of behavior that we saw this year, then there could be increased penalties to them and they could be treated as a hate crime because that’s exactly what this is," Hartman said in the video.

Sen. Mary Beth Carozza, R-38, also took to Facebook over the weekend to support the law enforcement officer and other first responders who handled what was "a very difficult week for Ocean City."

In a post, Carozza wrote that she's already had preliminary talks with law enforcement and expects to be hearing public safety recommendations from OCPD and its allied agencies about how best to move forward.

But that means first waiting for leaders to assess the weekend, conduct their after-action review and take input from the public.

In the meantime, she issued a news release Monday throwing her support behind Hartman's idea to classify attacks on law enforcement as hate crimes and said she will also work with the Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee on other resources and protections.

"I will continue to do all I can to support law enforcement and make public safety my top priority, especially at a time when the Maryland General Assembly has been holding anti-police hearings in Annapolis and considering legislation that would weaken law enforcement," Carozza wrote.

A task force of Maryland lawmakers has recently undertaken the goal of police reform, drafting measures that would repeal the Law Enforcement Officers' Bill of Rights, create a misconduct database and eliminate the use of no-knock warrants, to name a few.

These proposals have been met with resistance from Senate Republicans who called on hearings for the reforms to be cancelled.