Arrest numbers for St. Pat’s weekend released

With the 200th anniversary of the Savannah St. Patrick’s Day Parade drawing record crowds, law enforcement increased police presence, which resulted in a high number of arrests.

During the three-day St. Patrick’s Day celebration, March 15-18, most of the arrests - 42 - were for driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs, according to a review of Chatham County Detention Center booking statistics. During the same time period, 29 other traffic-related arrests occurred, including driving without a valid license or license plate tag. The other tallies: 18 drug-related arrests, 13 arrests aggravated assaults or battery-related incidents, 12 arrests for public drunkenness.

On St. Patrick’s Day, Savannah Police made 19 total arrests, including 12 misdemeanors and six felonies, according to statistics sent by a department spokesperson. That number represented an increase from last year when SPD made 12 arrests, the fewest arrests it had made in the previous four years. In comparison, SPD made 17 arrests in 2022, 33 in 2019, 20 in 2018 and 54 in 2017.

According to a City of Savannah spokesperson, Georgia State Patrol (GSP) Nighthawks issued 126 citations and made 26 DUI arrests. GSP POST 42 issued 153 citations and made 19 arrests, including 10 for DUI. The SPD Heat Unit wrote 108 citations, made 10 DUI arrests, had one felony drug arrest, and one fugitive apprehension. SPD’s Traffic Unit responded to Bay Street and Barnard Street for a reported hit and run involving a pedestrian, and SPD arrested the driver for DUI.

The Alcohol Beverage Compliance (ABC) Unit investigated 38 businesses, and 11 were cited for furnishing alcoholic beverages to underage persons. Last year, the ABC Unit conducted checks and undercover operations at 44 businesses from March 17-18. Of those, 12 failed the operation.

The following were cited for serving underage patrons:

Publix Super Market, 11701 Abercorn St.

The Juicy Seafood, 7805 Abercorn St., Ste. 15

The Narra Tree, 7054 Hodgson Memorial Dr. Locally Made, 223 W. Broughton St. Captain’s Lounge, 8414 Waters Ave. Aqua Vitae Lounge, 719 E. 65th St. Whitaker Market, 102 W. 37th St. Victorian Market, 1004 Abercorn St. Target, 1907 E. Victory Dr. T&P Market Store & More, 1820 Montgomery St.

Georgia Tasting Room, 306 W. St. Julian St.

ABC/Revenue and Code Enforcement also investigated server permit compliance, and issued 30 citations to businesses for insufficient training and/ or failure to maintain documentation required by the City.

Chatham EMS, meanwhile, “saw one of the busiest St. Patrick’s Day Parade and Festival weekends for EMS calls to date,” according to a press release. Chatham EMS responded to 145 calls from Friday through Sunday in the parade and festival area. According to the press release, the most common EMS responses were for the following: falls, unresponsive patient, assaults, alcoholrelated, heat-related/dehydration, and diabetic emergencies.

From March 15-17, SFD responded to 77 calls, according to SFD Communications Specialist Brian Gallagher.

Chatham Fire responded to 57 total calls from Friday through Sunday. Of those calls, Chatham Fire responded to two fires, 23 EMS calls and three service calls, including a courtesy home inspection and a smoke detector battery change. There were also 28 calls where nothing was found, including 11 False Alarms.

This year, tow trucks removed 52 vehicles from the staging area, down from 58 vehicles last year and up from 42 vehicles in 2022; 465 parking citations were issued on March 16, mostly for yellow line violations.

Drew Favakeh is the public safety and courts reporter for the Savannah Morning News. You can reach him at AFavakeh@savannahnow.com.