Police release arrest numbers, alcohol citations from St. Patrick’s Day celebrations

SAVANNAH, Ga. (WTOC) - Over the four-day period around St. Patrick’s Day in Savannah, 17 people were arrested in the main area of focus for the Savannah Police Department.

It’s worth noting this wasn’t for the whole city of Savannah but instead in the expanded to-go cup zone on Thursday and then the normal to-go cup zone Friday and Saturday. That number is less on average than in normal years, according to department leaders.

• 2019: 33 arrests
• 2018: 20 arrests
• 2017: 54 arrests

Savannah Police leaders attribute that in part to the expanded to-go cup zone, and the crowds being more spread out over a larger area.

“Overall, numbers were down. That’s a good thing. The crowds seemed to be having a good time without being overly intoxicated. Which means the bars were able to keep people at a moderate level of drinking without getting to the excesses, which is a good thing as well,” Sgt. Jason Pagliaro said.

Sgt. Pagliaro noted there were no arrests or citations written in the expanded to-go cup zone, and the department’s Alcohol Beverage Compliance Unit only cited one business in that area.

“I think the people that went to that area were probably more family-oriented. Starland, a couple stories I’ve seen on the news, was Starland had more family friendly crowds,” Sgt. Pagliaro said.

He also acknowledged the earlier end of the parade also led to fewer headaches for parade-goers and police.

“I think it helped people get out of the area that didn’t want to be in the area. I think it gave us some time to clean up. But it also gave our officers, our afternoon shift had extra time to get in, come on, get briefed and be out on the street by the time the crowd started to pick up. That helps as well,” Sgt. Pagliaro said.

Alcohol compliance checks

The Alcohol Beverage Compliance (ABC) Unit conducted checks at 35 businesses from March 17-19. Of those, 12 failed the operation. The managers or licensees were notified of the alcohol sold, that the buyer was underage, if the offender checked for ID, how the alcohol was served/sold/given to the buyer, and the actions taken by law enforcement after identifying the violation, according to police.

The following businesses failed:

• CVS, 119 Bull St.
• Wild Wing Café, 27 Barnard St.
• J.W. Marriott, 500 W. River St.
• River Street Liquor, 425 E. River St.
• Bohemian Hotel, 102 W. Bay St.
• Sorry Charlie’s, 116 W. Congress St.
• The Georgia Tasting Room, 306 W. St. Julian St.
• Molly MacPhearson’s, 311 W. Congress St.
• ChaDells, 2315Bull St.
• Largo Beverage, 8489 Waters Ave.
• Neighborhood Walmart, 10530 Abercorn St.
• Publix Supermarket at Largo, 11701 Abercorn St.

The following businesses passed:

• Coffee Fox, 102 W. Brougton St.
• Walgreens, 300 W. Broughton St.
• Octane Bar and Lounge, 35 Whitaker St.
• Wet Willie’s, 20 Jefferson St.
• Five Oaks Taproom, 201 W. Bay St.
• The Grove, 301 W. Congress St.
• B&D Burgers, 209 W. Congress St.
• Café at City Market, 224 W. St. Julian St.
• District Smokehouse, 500 W. River St.
• Olympia Café, 5 E. River t.
• Wet Willie’s, 101 E. River St.
• The Warehouse, 18 E. River St.
• Rogue Water, 38 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
• The Vault, 2112 Bull St.
• The Wormhole, 2407 Bull St.
• Squirrel’s Pizza, 2218 Bull St.
• Marathon Whitaker Market, 102 W. 37TH St.
• Chevron, 2602 Abercorn St.
• CVS, 5401 Abercorn St.
• Kroger, 301 Mall Blvd., Ste. 100
• Marathon, 12500 White Bluff Road
• Enmarket, 14000 Abercorn St.

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