Port St. Lucie won't crack down on Fourth of July fireworks, even though they're illegal

PORT ST. LUCIE — Police are virtually powerless to stomp out the widespread use of illegal fireworks during Fourth of July celebrations, city officials said Monday. 

So they're not going to try to change it. 

Cracking down on illegal use of fireworks on Independence Day would take a major education campaign before the holiday and a massive show of force on July 4, said Police Chief John Bolduc.

"It would be a change from the norm in this city," Bolduc told the City Council Monday. "If you go through the city during the Fourth of July week, it looked like to me everybody in the city was setting off fireworks." 

As a result, the City Council decided not to order a crackdown on illegal fireworks displays on July 4 despite receiving 194 complaints about illegal fireworks between June 11 and July 11.

Several residents also raised the issue during the July 9 council meeting, leading the council to ask for a review of state and local fireworks laws, City Manager Russ Blackburn said.

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State and city law bar shooting off fireworks, with violations punishable by up to one year in jail and a $1,000 fine.

But countless residents ignore those laws around July 4 when they turn their residential streets into pyrotechnic launching pads, city officials said.

Bolduc said enforcing the law is problematic because officers must catch someone in the act of lighting a firework in order to make an arrest, preserve and store the evidence and make a case the State Attorney's Office can prosecute.

People usually stop lighting their fireworks as soon as they see a patrol car coming, so it's difficult to catch anyone in the act, Bolduc said. And it's not against the law to possess fireworks, just to shoot them off.

Some city residents also shoot off illegal fireworks in the days before and after July 4, but the problem is not as widespread as on the holiday, Bolduc said.

Fireworks can be sold legally for agricultural, aquaculture, governmental and railroad uses, Bolduc said. Some people who buy fireworks sign waivers falsely indicating they have an agricultural use for them, Bolduc said.

Councilwoman Jolien Caraballo said residents who are sensitive to the sound or who have animals affected by the noise could post a sign on their lawns, asking people not to shoot off fireworks nearby.

Mayor Greg Oravec advised residents who are upset about the widespread flouting of state fireworks laws to ask their state lawmakers to beef up the law.

"There's not much that we can do," Oravec said. "It needs to be fixed at the state level."

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Fireworks-related police calls

For June 11-July 11, 2018

Fireworks complaints: 194

Shooting activity: 24

Disturbance: 6

Explosion: 1

Source: City of Port St. Lucie