The Ohio Investigative Unit more than doubled the number of alcohol-related charges filed by Athens police during this year’s Halloween festivities, but officials still called the weekend “mellow” compared to years past.
The Ohio Investigative Unit filed a total of 74 arrests during the Halloween weekend, and the Athens Police Department filed 49.
Most of the Ohio Investigative Unit arrests were for underage possession or consumption of alcohol, said Julie Hinds, a spokeswoman for the agency.
The arrest numbers made by Ohio University Police were not available. Police Chief Andrew Powers could not be reached for comment.
Officials from Athens, OU and the block party all said this year’s block party was no more rowdy than previous years.
The festivities may have been “mellow” in Athens, but they still resulted in seven times more arrests by the Ohio Investigative Unit than at Kent State’s Halloween celebration this past weekend, which resulted in 12 arrests, according to agency documents.
Athens also saw more instances of fights this year, Athens Police Chief Tom Pyle said.
“Everything went pretty smooth, other than they got a lot of calls for fights,” Pyle said. “They always have some fights going on for Halloween, but this year it was elevated.”
There were 10 calls for fights and one for assault made to Athens Police during the weekend. There were three noise complaints and four nuisance party complaints, according to a news release from Athens County Public Information Officer Dan Pfieffer.
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