Police say St. Patrick's Day 2019 was slowest ever
Central Michigan University and Mount Pleasant Police Department officers said that this year’s St. Patrick’s Day weekend was the slowest ever.
In preparation for this year’s St. Patrick’s Day weekend, both departments planned to have additional staff to patrol the city to make sure that partygoers were acting appropriately.
However, it seems like the extra bodies weren’t needed since this year was the “slowest ever in 25 years,” said MPPD Public Information Officer David Vandyke.
Vandyke listed the citations that MPPD officers issued between Friday, March 15 and Sunday, March 17.
- 1 larceny
- 1 open intoxication
- 1 operating while intoxicated stop
- 1 VPHC (possession of marijuana)
- 6 traffic violation stops
- 1 driving without a license
- 2 Minor in possession of alcohol (MIP)
During the OWI stop, officers stopped and arrested a 20-year-old man for driving while intoxicated with opened liquor bottles in the vehicle.
Vandyke compares the holiday weekend to any other weekend. He believes that the decline in citations issued is due to the zero-tolerance policy that the city holds on nuisance parties.
“The city has taken a hard stand on nuisance parties and I believe that the elimination of those parties is reducing other issues that would call for a citation,” he said.
CMUPD Lt. Cameron Wassman also provided a list of citations issued during the weekend, which included:
- 1 MIP
- 1 criminal sexual conduct report (under investigation)
- 1 disorderly conduct
The one incident of disorderly conduct reported a 21-year-old male urinating in public near the broadcasting station’s parking lot. It was not reported if the male was intoxicated or not.
“Citations being given has been declining over the years,” Wassman said. “I would like to think that it’s because people are following the rules and trying to keep themselves safe, which I think is a big part of it, but like we’ve said before a lot of these types of events are weather driven.”
This year’s weekend celebration saw a lesser amount of citations issued than during the 2018 St. Patrick’s Day.
Last year, CMUPD handled:
- 6 well-being checks
- 1 public hazard report
- 2 disorderly conduct
- 1 loud party/disturbance
- 5 subject stops
- 10 vehicle stops
MPPD issued a total of 20 citations last year.
- 1 assault
- 2 criminally carrying concealed weapon
- 2 disorderly conduct
- 3 no insurance
- 3 open intoxicants
- 7 traffic violations
- 13 well-being checks
- 7 loud party complaints
- 58 vehicle stops
- 168 calls for service
Police departments combined, only 16 citations were issued this year compared to last year’s, which approximated 30 citations.
Both departments were glad to see the low number of citations that were issued during the weekend.
“We want everyone to have fun, but most importantly be safe,” Wassman said. “I think people are following the rules more and that’s what we like to see. You can still have fun and not worry about getting tickets or getting arrested.”
