In what is a first for Langley, the mayor apologized to residents and visitors for the fireworks activity that illegally occurred within city limits over the holiday weekend.
During a city council meeting this week, Mayor Kennedy Horstman said this was not an operational failure of the Langley Police Department, the Island County Sheriff’s Office or ICOM. She acknowledged that it was instead a leadership failure on her part.
This spring, two police officers accepted positions outside of Langley, leaving only two others to staff the department, which is not enough to provide 24/7 coverage. To ensure appropriate emergency law enforcement coverage, the sheriff’s office is providing 911 coverage when Langley police are not scheduled to be on duty. Though a deputy did respond on the Fourth of July, they didn’t at that point see anything that required intervention.
“The Fourth of July was not front of mind when we established this collaborative coverage with Island County, and I didn’t anticipate the need to proactively adjust our coverage over the Fourth of July,” Horstman said. “I’m really sorry that I didn’t and I’m really sorry that residents and visitors, both human and animal, had to deal with fireworks over the weekend.”
The city is currently recruiting more police officers and the mayor is committed to providing advance warning next year before the holiday. One resident noted seeing signs in previous years indicating a ban on fireworks in Langley, which Horstman agreed is a good point.
Dominique Emerson, a past city council member who is running unopposed this year for a seat, suggested a city-wide email reminding people about the ban. She also recommended putting it in the water bills and informing citizens that calling 911 on the Fourth of July will not work because illegal fireworks in Langley are not a county priority.
“No one came to my house when I called,” she said. “In fact, they hung up on me when I called 911.”
She added that she thinks it’s important to provide guidelines for what people should do, and no one should approach anyone alone when they’re lighting off fireworks. She also supported putting up signs warning people of the ban.
Councilmember Craig Cyr said he thought he saw skepticism on the faces of city staff members about what was just said, but Horstman suggested having a private conversation. Cyr responded that it would be interesting to see if that happens.
Towards the end of the meeting, Cyr suggested a draft policy or list of procedures should be presented to the council in March 2026, a few months ahead of Independence Day celebrations. He mentioned a sign he has seen in the city of Mukilteo informing people of the ban on pyrotechnics there.
When asked by the Record later, Cyr said compared to previous years since the ban on fireworks took effect in 2021, this was the worst year he’s seen. He had heard there were people firing fireworks on the beach, which is where at least one physical encounter took place.
