JOINT RELEASE REGARDING MAY 27, 2024, STATE OF EMERGENCY

Release Date:

May 27, 2024

WILDWOOD, NJ – Together with the City of Wildwood Police Department, Mayor Ernie Troiano, Jr., Commissioner of Public Safety Steve Mikulski, and Commissioner Krista McConnell offer the following:

The City of Wildwood Police Department began to respond to an irrepressible number of calls for service in the City of Wildwood on the evening of Saturday, May 25, 2024. Most of these calls were related to the extremely large number of young adults and juveniles that were in the city for the Memorial Day weekend. At the peak of this civil unrest, mutual aid requests were sent out to multiple agencies in Cape May County. Due to the high volume of calls, we were also unable to respond to certain calls for service within the city for a period of time. On May 26, 2024, out of an abundance of caution, Chief Joseph Murphy advised the city commissioners along with the Emergency Management Coordinator for the City of Wildwood that emergent conditions existed due to civil unrest threatening the public health, safety, and welfare of our residents and visitors alike. Due to this advisement, a local disaster emergency was declared in the early morning hours of May 27, 2024, when conditions again began to deteriorate despite the presence and efforts of local police officers and multiple mutual aid law enforcement agencies.

Through the enactment of a state of emergency during the early morning hours of May 27, 2024, which included the closure of the boardwalk, the City of Wildwood was able to effectively address numerous incidents of civil unrest and ensure the safety and welfare of our residents and visitors.

While the actions taken by the city and City of Wildwood Police Department may have caused some inconvenience, these measures were necessary to ensure public safety and maintain law and order within our jurisdiction. As of this time, the state of emergency has been rescinded, and we thank everyone for their cooperation.

The Wildwood Police Department would like to extend our sincere appreciation to all the Departments that responded to assist us during this extremely dynamic incident.

Mayor Ernie Troiano, Jr. stated, “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 continued, “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 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.”

In honor of the solemness of this day, no further statements or interviews will be given.

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