Middletown police report fewer fireworks calls over July 1–5; cooling station to open during heat advisory

Middletown police handled 58 fireworks-related calls from July 1 through July 5 this year, the police chief said at the Board of Aldermen meeting, and the city will open a temporary cooling station amid a federal heat advisory.

The police chief said 34 of the 58 calls occurred on July 4. He provided comparative numbers for the same period in previous years: 84 calls in 2024 and 81 in 2023. “We definitely saw a difference,” the chief said, crediting a proactive deployment of officers and extra staffing over the holiday.

The chief described tactics used during the period, including additional officers on the streets, neighborhood-unit follow-ups and confiscations where arrests were made. Alderman Cliner and others praised the police and traffic-handling plans for the fireworks events, and the chief credited Lieutenant Dolan, Sergeant Welch and other staff for operational planning.

Separately, the mayor announced that, because the CDC issued a heat risk advisory for two days, the city’s warming/cooling station on Mulberry Street will be open: tomorrow from 2 to 5 p.m. and Thursday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. The mayor asked for the council’s support later in the meeting for unrelated agenda items.

What was not specified on the record: the meeting transcript did not provide final arrest counts for the period (the chief said paperwork was still pending), exact staffing totals, or names of individuals arrested. The chief also said some officers were completing arrest paperwork after the meeting and that some follow-up work continued outside city limits.