New Year’s Eve activity in downtown Wilmington was comparable to years past, according to police.
Wilmington Police Department Spokeswoman Lucy Crockett said Lt. George Perkins, who oversees the department’s downtown task force, reported Monday night was busier than the average weekend.
“Officers had to break up several fights, the worst of which was around 2:30 a.m. when one of the large clubs closed. The WPD mounted unit was requested to help disperse the crowd and officers had to use [pepper] spray on the ground,” Crockett said.
Downtown was mostly cleared out by 3:15 a.m., Crockett said.
“As for the rest of the city—based on supervisors’ notes, it appears that officers were extremely busy all over town. District supervisors reported heavy calls for service, with numerous reports of shots fired, and each reported incident must be investigated. There also were a significant number of domestic disputes reported,” Crockett said.
Several local law enforcement agencies conducted a traffic operation aimed at curbing impaired drivers the weekend before New Year’s Eve.
During the Saturday night operation, which continued into Sunday morning, 39 people were charged with various driving violations, Crockett said.
Eight people were charged with driving while impaired and two were charged with driving after consuming alcohol under the age of 21.
