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Sheriff: Crowded beach shut down July 4 after overdoses, fight

Posted at 10:28 AM, Jul 06, 2019
and last updated 2019-07-06 12:28:49-04

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    Caseville, MI (WNEM) — It was a wild Fourth of July at the Caseville County Park Beach.

The beach was closed down for a short period on Independence Day after a slew of crime incidents took place.

The incidents happened at the beach from 4:30 p.m. to 6 p.m., according to Huron County Sheriff Kelly Hanson.

During that time, two drug overdoes took place, one alcohol overdose, one person was found unconscious from a fight, and one person was arrested for being disorderly while intoxicated, the sheriff said.

Hanson said the first overdose took four uses of Narcan to bring the user back.

Several law enforcement officers from the sheriff’s office responded to the beach, as did two Caseville officers, one Fairhaven Township officer, and two Michigan State Police troopers.

“Certainly tested and challenged all of our services that were available. On Fourth of July, we’re all pressed right to the limit to begin with,” Hanson said.

The beach was closed down during that period and the crowd was estimated to be more than 2,000 people, Hanson said.

“I’ve never seen anything like that ever and I’ve been up in this area on and off for a lot of years,” said Deb Spencer, beach goer.

On Friday, six off-duty deputies were called in and assigned to the beach to address the alcohol and drug use problem.

“It needs to be noted that the Caseville Beach is not normally like it was yesterday, and in my 37 years of law enforcement, I don’t ever recall it getting that far out of hand. We certainly welcome beach goers by all means but trouble makers can easily find themselves waking up in our jail tomorrow morning, or appearing in district court sometime during the upcoming week,” Hanson said.

In all, the Huron County Central Dispatch dispatched 144 incidents throughout the county on July 4, the sheriff’s office said.

Hanson said they will be continuing their increased patrols throughout the weekend. They want everyone to stay safe.

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