PUT-IN-BAY, Ohio — SWAT team members from three counties were deployed to Put-in-Bay on South Bass Island on Saturday evening after about 19,000 people converged on the village’s downtown area.
Ottawa County Sheriff Stephen Levorchick says their office was contacted by Put-in-Bay Police Chief James Kimble around 7 p.m. to help with the mass of people who were becoming unruly.
Levorchick says while deputies were en route to the island, security personnel for the Jet Express ferry service notified police they were about to lose control of the dock.
At that point, the Ottawa County sheriff decided to deploy the SWAT team.
Sandusky County and Erie County were also contacted about sending their SWAT teams.
About 30 SWAT members between the three counties responded.
Levorchick says most of the issues police responded to involved fights, with most of the problems occurring on Delaware Ave. in downtown Put-in-Bay.
Levorchick says the first SWAT unit that arrived on the island was able to get the scene under control.
Overall, 6 to 10 fights were broken up by SWAT members.
Two people were arrested. Both arrests were unrelated to the fights. One involved a domestic situation and another a disorderly conduct and resisting arrest on the ferry, according to Levorchick.
Put-in Bay's Mayor Judy Berry said the sudden spike in tourists surprised the village, and the whole situation is an example of a continuing problem: the Put-in-Bay police force is understaffed.
"Right now, our roster is about 10 [officers]," Berry said. "Normally in the summer, we would have about 20 on that roster. We're cut in half right now."
Berry said she's working with the state to try to grow that number, but low police staffing is an issue across the entire country.
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