Jersey City cops, other law enforcement arrest 176 through Operation Summer Shield

Saturday, June 04, 2011, 10:05 AM
By Michaelangelo Conte/The Jersey Journal

Jersey City police working with federal, state and county law enforcement arrested 176 violent offenders and wanted suspects during the past eight days as the culmination of Operation Summer Shield, officials said.

?The intelligence phase of gathering street information on violent offenders and open-air drug markets paid big dividends,? said Jersey City Mayor Jerramiah Healy, who announced the results of the effort at City Hall yesterday morning.

Representatives from many of the agencies involved were at yesterday?s press conference. They include the DEA, FBI, U.S. Marshals Service, N.J. State Police, N.J. State Parole, the state Attorney General?s Office, Hudson County Prosecutor?s Office, Hudson County Sheriff?s Office and Jersey City police.
At the event, police also displayed firearms of the types confiscated during the probe. The exact number of weapons and narcotics and amount of cash seized have not been released because some aspects of the operation are ongoing, Jersey City spokesman Stan Eason said.

Intelligence gathering included the use of undercover teams of street operatives from various agencies and was aimed at stemming summer violence by locking up repeat offenders and parole violators.

The community outreach phase of Operation Summer Shield will include as many as five movie nights to be held in each of Jersey City?s four police districts. The events are hosted by the Police Athletic League and will allow children and their parents to spend time with local police officers with the aim of improving communication and community relations.
Healy also reiterated his commitment to getting illegal guns off the streets and said a second gun amnesty and buyback will be held in late June or early July as part of Operation Summer Shield.

Anyone with information on crime is asked to call the Jersey City police tip line at (201) 547-JAIL.