In a press conference at 2 p.m. this afternoon at Trenton City Hall, Mayor W. Reed Gusciora along with Trenton Police Director Sheilah Coley and Trenton Office of Emergency Management Coordinator Derrick J.V. Sawyer, addressed last night’s rioting in New Jersey’s Capital City amid protests over the death of George Floyd on May 25, 2020 in Minneapolis.
In light of civil unrest that occurred in Downtown Trenton on Sunday evening, a 7 p.m., curfew is in place for the city, effective immediately. The curfew applies to all individuals and businesses. All streets and sidewalks must be clear of pedestrian and vehicular traffic by 7 p.m. Additional information is available on this curfew here.
While Mayor Gusciora expressed that he was “outraged by the senseless death of Mr. George Floyd” in Minneapolis last week and believes that “the police officers involved in this deadly incident should be indicted for their actions,” he also urged, for Trenton’s sake, that we all come together to “move the city forward.”
“We will not tolerate any more of the mayhem that happened last night,” added Mayor Gusciora. “I want to acknowledge members of City Council (Kathy McBride, George Muschal, Jerell Blakeley, Santiago Rodriguez, Marge-Caldwell Wilson, and Joseph Harrison) who came out here to support us as we all stand in unison.”
“If you come into our city to agitate, stay away,” said Mayor Gusciora noting that the majority of looters wreaking havoc on the city were out-of-towners. “It is inexcusable why they would come and wreck our city.”
“We are doing everything we can to make sure the violence does not continue, said Mayor Gusciora. “We’re working with police, fire and education leaders to make sure that our city moves forward.”
Trenton Police Director Sheilah Coley, a 30-year veteran of law enforcement who leads the Trenton Police Department, is actively engaged in managing and deploying hardworking police officers and personnel to control gang activity, violent crime, crimes against property, and financial crimes. The department’s community relations division is committed to strengthening police-community relations in all corners of our city, involving thought leaders and activists, community organizations and homeowners and renters.
“We had several outsiders who came here to commit their crimes,” said Trenton Police Director Sheilah Coley. “I am working hard with our Federal partners to see if we can prosecute those people federally for the crimes they committed.”
Last night’s incident was not unique to Trenton, but rather spread across other municipalities throughout the state according to Coley. “We look forward to working with our partners in the community today and all the days moving forward to help mitigate personal safety and property damage.”
“Thank you to all agencies involved (City and State Police, Fire, EMS, all Counties) for a coordinated effort,” said Trenton Office of Emergency Management Coordinator Derrick J.V. Sawyer. “I also want to thank members of the community who came out this morning to help us recover. We don’t get this done without a coordinated effort.”
