PUT-IN-BAY - A total of 27 people were arrested at Put-in-Bay during the islands annual “Christmas in July” festival last weekend, according to the Put-in-Bay Police Department.
A team of more than 100 officers was formed to provide the additional law enforcement to deal with the tens of thousands of tourists who visited the island during the festival.
The Allied Bay Law Enforcement Team, or ABLE Team, coordinated by the Put-in-Bay Police Department, consisted of officers from seven local, state and federal agencies, including the Ottawa County Sheriff’s Office, Ohio Highway Patrol, Ohio Department of Natural Resources, U.S. Coast Guard and U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
The team also had an additional six highway patrol cars with two-officer units each policing for impaired drivers.
The team dealt with 150 total calls for service on South Bass Island on Saturday and Sunday.
In addition to the arrests, 75 citations were issued for minor misdemeanors and 36 people were charged with operating a vehicle under the influence of alcohol or drugs, or OVI, according to the Put-in-Bay Police Department.
“There were a few fights, but there were no riots,” said Put-in-Bay Police Chief Steve Riddle. “For the amount of people we had on the island, it was actually pretty mundane considering the numbers.”
An estimated 35,000 tourists visited the island over the weekend.
While there were a total of four calls made for LifeFlight helicopter, Riddle said there were no life-threatening injuries that he was aware of at Put-in-Bay throughout the weekend.
Most of the arrests were for various misdemeanor offenses, including assault and persistent disorderly conduct.
One of the men arrested at Put-in-Bay on Saturday, Thomas Yates, 36, of South Lyon, Michigan, was charged with felonious assault, a second-degree felony.
Catawba Island Police Chief John Gangway said fights that began on South Bass Island spilled over to the Miller Ferry on Saturday as it was carrying passengers back from the weekend event.
The chief said it is not clear how the brawls started, but he said between 3,000 and 4,000 people flooded the Catawba Island docks of the Miller ferry by 8:45 p.m. Saturday, when more scuffles broke out.
Miller Boat Line co-owner Bill Market told the News Herald on Monday that he believes the incident on the ferry started with an argument between two females over what he described as personal matters.
The situation was defused within minutes, Market said.
Videos of some of the incidents, which contain explicit language, were shared on social media over the weekend.
