By DONALD WITTKOWSKI
Police Chief Jay Prettyman, who guided Ocean City’s public safety through the challenges of the pandemic and also oversaw a strategy for containing outbursts of rowdy teenage behavior during the summer tourism season, was honored by City Council on Thursday night on the eve of his retirement.
Prettyman, 52, is stepping down Friday after serving as police chief since February 2019, and acting chief the year before that, during a 32-year career in law enforcement.
“Thirty-two years is a long time to do anything,” Prettyman said while accompanied by his wife, Tiffany, during the Council meeting.
He said that he could not have stayed that long in law enforcement if he didn’t love his job. He added that it will be difficult for him to leave.
Prettyman will be succeeded by Deputy Police Chief Bill Campbell, a 30-year veteran of the department who will become chief after Prettyman’s retirement becomes official.
“The place is in good hands with Bill,” Prettyman said.
Council honored Prettyman with a proclamation that praised his “dedication, professionalism, loyalty, knowledge of policing, and good humor.”
“Prettyman’s commitment to Ocean City extended beyond the department to the entire community. (He) earned the deepest respect of his fellow officers, city team members and Ocean City residents,” the proclamation said.
He started his law enforcement career while serving as a summer police officer in Ocean City in 1992 and 1993. He worked as an officer in Haddon Heights, Camden County, from 1993 to 1995 before joining the Ocean City Police Department as a full-time patrolman in September 1995.
He worked his way through the ranks, becoming a sergeant, lieutenant, detective lieutenant and then captain in 2008. He served as acting police chief for a year before his full appointment as chief in 2019.
The proclamation also lauded Prettyman for helping to steer the city through a number of “exceptional challenges,” particularly the COVID-19 pandemic and the state’s juvenile justice reforms.
City officials and Prettyman repeatedly complained that the juvenile justice reforms hampered police by limiting their response to underage drinking, vandalism, theft and other unruly behavior by large groups of teens during the summer tourism season.
State laws enacted in 2021 under Gov. Phil Murphy put restrictions on police on how far they can go in their interactions with teens. For instance, instead of placing juveniles under arrest or taking them into custody, police officers are required to give them “curbside warnings” for minor crimes such as underage drinking or marijuana possession.
However, Prettyman and the police department devised a strategy to contain rowdy teens by keeping them on the beach under close supervision instead of allowing them to spill out onto the Boardwalk and cause more damage.
In another step this year, Council approved stricter measures to crack down on troublemaking teens, including an 11 p.m. public curfew for juveniles, a nighttime backpack ban on the beach and Boardwalk and closing the Boardwalk bathrooms at 10 p.m. The beaches were closed at 8 p.m. over the summer to keep teens from hanging out in large groups and causing problems.
Gillian praised Prettyman’s leadership throughout all of the public safety challenges, joking that he should have received “a lot of hazard pay, too.”
At the same time, Gillian commended Prettyman for his ability to enforce the laws without becoming heavy-handed in the way the police department responded to the rowdy teens.
“Between the two chiefs I’ve had, it was always about community and helping,” Gillian said, referring to Prettyman and his predecessor, former Police Chief Chad Callahan.
In another proclamation Thursday, Council honored Ken Jones, who is retiring after serving as the city’s zoning officer and municipal code enforcement manager. Jones’ career in Ocean City spanned more than 20 years.
“Jones always served Ocean City’s residents well by striking a reasonable balance between the needs of individual owners and the interests of the public at large,” the proclamation said.
Gillian called Jones one of the “superstars” of his administration and praised him for his honesty and hard work.
“It’s been an honor and privilege to work for the city,” Jones said in parting remarks.
He added that it was time for him to retire to let a new generation of leaders take charge of a “great city.”
