St. Patrick’s Day sees increased patrols as students celebrate

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St. Patrick’s Day was for the most part similar to a typical weekend for area police forces.

Capt. Tom Forsberg of Mount Pleasant Police said behavior throughout the student population and community was mostly reflective of what he has seen in the past on St. Patrick’s Day.

“We increased the number of officers for the shifts we had last night by about 40 percent,” Forsberg said. “We did that directly in relation to what we’ve seen in past years for the number of calls for service that we receive over the course of the evening.”

MPPD issued 27 alcohol violations, including minor in possession and open intox on a public highway.

Police charged two people with resisting and obstructing police, two with malicious destruction of property, one with assault and seven with disorderly conduct. One larceny from a vehicle was reported.

Isabella County Sheriff Leo Mioduszewski said St. Patrick’s Day was busier than usual, although he could not provide statistics this weekend.

“Thursday, we double up anyway. St. Patrick’s Day just happened to fall on a Thursday this year,” Mioduszewski said. “We really didn’t have any different problems than what we’ve had before. For the most part, everybody was cooperative.”

CMU Police Chief Bill Yeagley said campus police did not come across anything that he was not prepared for. Specific crime numbers had not released as of Saturday afternoon.

“Compared to last year, it was a little bit less active, also compared to the other Thursday nights we’ve been having lately,” Yeagley said. “The weather was much nicer, so the folks celebrating St. Patrick’s Day (during the day) were active, but it was nothing earth-shattering.”

Most students celebrating the holiday were respectful and cooperative toward police, he said.

“There were a few people who were not that way and we had to take enforcement action,” Yeagley said, “but overall the people were very positive.”