Police in Providence, Rhode Island, have arrested 14 people since the city formed a task force to crack down on illegal fireworks that have bedeviled cities across the country this summer.
The department tweeted Saturday that six people were arrested Thursday and eight more on Friday. Police said they will "continue this enforcement indefinitely."
About a dozen officials from the Providence police and fire departments and the State Fire Marshal's Office fanned out across the city responding to reports of fireworks and noise-related incidents.
Every neighborhood in Providence “has been plagued by the illegal use of fireworks,” City Council Majority Leader Jo-Ann Ryan said in an emailed statement earlier this month.
Mayor Jorge Elorza has previously urged residents to be mindful of their neighbors and “not use dangerous fireworks or explosives, particularly in our densely-packed neighborhoods.”
Ground-based firecrackers and handheld sparklers are legal in Rhode Island. But Providence Police Chief Hugh Clements says aerial fireworks that remain illegal in the state have proliferated.
