Wildwood Releases Information On Civil Unrest

Over the Memorial Day weekend, the City of Wildwood experienced an unprecedented number of calls for service, prompting city officials and law enforcement to take significant measures to maintain public safety.

Mayor Ernie Troiano, Jr., Commissioner of Public Safety Steve Mikulski, and Commissioner Krista McConnell have provided a detailed account of the events and the subsequent actions taken.

On the evening of Saturday, May 25, 2024, the Wildwood Police Department began responding to an overwhelming number of calls.

The majority were related to the influx of young adults and juveniles visiting the city for the holiday weekend. As the situation escalated, Wildwood sought mutual aid from multiple agencies in Cape May County to manage the volume of incidents.

Due to the sheer number of calls, there were periods when the department could not respond to every request for service.

On May 26, 2024, Chief Joseph Murphy informed the city commissioners and the Emergency Management Coordinator that the civil unrest posed a significant threat to public health, safety, and welfare.

In response, a local disaster emergency was declared in the early hours of May 27, 2024, as conditions worsened despite the efforts of local police and assisting agencies.

The declaration of a state of emergency included measures such as closing the boardwalk, which enabled the city to address numerous incidents and ensure the safety of residents and visitors.

While these actions may have caused inconvenience, they were deemed necessary to maintain order and protect the community.

As of now, the state of emergency has been lifted, and city officials express gratitude for the public’s cooperation.

The Wildwood Police Department extended sincere thanks to all the responding departments for their assistance during this challenging situation.

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Mayor Ernie Troiano, Jr. emphasized, “Wildwood will not tolerate unruly, undisciplined, unparented children nor will we stand by while the laws of the state tie the hands of the police. We wholeheartedly support the City of Wildwood Police Department in protecting this community from these nuisance crowds on our boardwalk and in the city.”

Commissioner of Public Safety Steve Mikulski noted, “We had measures in place ahead of the Sunday night crowds so that the police department could take these preemptive actions should the need arise. Unfortunately, the crowds necessitated the state of emergency to which our police department and other responding departments worked together to maintain order in the city.”

Commissioner Krista McConnell added, “We support our police department in taking any action necessary to control unruly teen crowds and will continue to collaborate with Senator Testa and other shore towns on a task force to have these issues addressed at the state level.”