Police control crime on Western Weekend, despite fires, alcohol offenses
Officer Jeff Browne of the Mount Pleasant Police Department set out on patrol Saturday night with one objective: To ensure an average, routine weekend of partying at CMU on an above average weekend.
Historically, Western Weekend has been one of the rowdiest, most out-of-control weekends in Mount Pleasant. Despite its reputation, Officer Browne described Saturday night as “pretty calm and under control," as he rolled past two houses on Main Street throwing parties amidst a half-dozen Michigan State troopers on the sidewalk directly in front of them.
Despite the rivalry and copious alcohol consumption, CMU students heeded the advice of the MPPD and partied carefully. Browne’s patrol that night included a stop for drugs, a dumpster fire, a domestic concern and two bouts of underage drinking.
Browne said he was clearly happy to have avoided any serious altercations. Before the weekend he cautioned that making headlines for criminal activity is “a black eye for CMU," and was proud that “it was a pretty calm night.”
While the evening had the propensity to escalate wildly out of hand, Browne said CMU students honored their true reputation by not "getting too crazy."
“It’s a fun community," he said. “That doesn’t mean it has to be dangerous.”
At one point in the evening, Officer Browne passed a man who appeared to be distraught on the street, and stopped immediately.
Browne asked him if he needed assistance. The man explained that he was not getting along with his girlfriend, whom Browne met with. The matter was settled and the man returned inside.
“I look for people who seem to need help, and try to see what I can do," Browne said.
Though the night did not pass without incident, there were only 17 citations for open intoxicants, 13 MIPs, and 23 citations for disorderly conduct, compared with thousands of students and guests on the street. Students should be proud that they reflected the positive nature of the community by coming together for a great time, without creating a dangerous and unwelcoming environment.
There were a few exceptions to the relatively calm evening, one being a dumpster fire outside an apartment complex on West Campus Drive.
“I’ve seen a hundred of these," Browne said at the scene.
He concerned himself only with keeping bystanders at a safe distance while the fire department quickly responded.
As the parties settled down for the night, so did the substantial police presence on and about the streets of Mount Pleasant, which responded to 284 calls for service over the course of the weekend.
Browne says he “Hopes for this kind of behavior” next time when CMU hosts its rival WMU.
