Arrests typical for Halloween weekend

Leslie Schelat

After an eventful Halloween weekend, the Daily Kent Stater blotter was a little bigger than usual.

In yesterday’s edition of the Stater, the blotter, which listed arrests and reported crimes for Friday, Saturday and Sunday, took up half a page of the paper.

And for some students, it was a worthwhile read.

“This year it seemed a lot more crazy,” said junior marketing major Gary Miller. “There were a lot more old drunk people running around.”

Most of the arrests made were for prohibitions, which is underage consumption. Other arrests included public intoxication and having open containers of alcohol.

“There were 65 arrests on Saturday,” said Lt. Michelle Lee of the Kent Police Department. This number included arrests made on Sunday morning after midnight. Lee said last year’s festivities totaled 57 arrests.

While the number of arrests increased by eight, Lee said the night was not unusual for Halloween.

“As far as activities downtown, it was pretty typical,” she said.

Lee said there were no major disturbances downtown. One officer was assaulted when he made a call to a residence, but Lee said this is not highly unusual either.

The Kent Police Department accommodates the influx of pedestrians downtown by bringing in additional officers.

“We always have extra officers,” Lee said. “We have the Kent State Police and the Summit County SWAT team.”

Since many students dress up as law enforcement officers, they aren’t always taken seriously when seen on the streets.

“I saw a lot more riot police and people walking up to them, thinking they were in costume,” Miller said.

With additional units on duty, about 80 officers were in the downtown area. On a typical night, the total number of officers is seven.

While the streets of downtown Kent were crowded with people celebrating the holiday, Lee said there weren’t many more people than normal Halloween nights, partly because the weather for the last two years has been favorable.

“It was the same (as last year) as far as population,” Lee said. “There were probably more people than some years because some years before it rained.”

Another major Halloween celebration in Ohio is at Ohio University in Athens.

“Athens is bigger. They have a bigger downtown area,” Lee said. “Their arrests are always bigger.”

The total number of arrests by the Athens Police Department was not available at press time.

Contact general assignment reporter Leslie Schelat at [email protected].