Put-in-Bay police called in SWAT teams from three nearby sheriff’s offices to help control fights that were breaking out among about 19,000 people who had converged Saturday night on the small Lake Erie island in Ohio, authorities said.
The last weekend in July has historically been the tourist-centric island’s annual “Christmas in July” weekend, a now-unofficial event that still continues to draw up to tens of thousands of visitors looking to party.
Ottawa County Sheriff Steve Levorchick told USA TODAY he was on duty during the last night of the county’s fair in Oak Harbor when a sheriff’s lieutenant stationed South Bass Island called him around 7 p.m. with an urgent message from the village’s police chief.
In response to Put-in-Bay Police Chief James Kimble’s request for assistance to handle an unruly crowd, Levorchick said he responded to the island with a team of about 10 deputies, most of whom were part of the agency’s SWAT team. SWAT teams with the sheriff’s offices in both Sandusky and Erie counties also were called to a ferry line from Port Clinton to Put-in-Bay, Levorchik said.
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“His words were that downtown (Put-in-Bay) was out of control,” Levorchick said of the message his lieutenant relayed from Kimble, who he said estimated the crowd size to be about 19,000. “It’ sounded very hectic to me; it sounded like they were basically being overrun.”
USA TODAY could not immediately reach Kimble on Monday morning.
Ottawa County’s SWAT team was the first to arrive around 8 p.m., Levorchick said. In the course of about four hours, SWAT members from sheriff’s office broke up multiple fights − Levorchick estimated no more than 10 − but only made two arrests.
The first was a domestic violence arrest on the island, while the second occurred on the ferry ride back to the mainland around 12:30 a.m. Sunday when deputies arrested a suspect for disorderly conduct and resisting arrest, Levorchick said.
Levorchick recalled seeing “total congestion” on the packed island, but otherwise not much outright violence.
“It was a very large crowd with at times gridlock and at times just people having fun,” Levorchick said. “We work with people − we don’t come in heavy-handed − and we got the congestion cleared out by communicating with people.”
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Put-in-Bay is known for its many bars, restaurants and nightlife that attract visitors from all over, especially during the summer months.
But Levorchik said he believes that Saturday’s crowd was larger than what is typical because of Put-in-Bay’s infamous (and now unofficial) “Christmas in July” weekend.
Historically celebrated on the final weekend in July, the would-be holiday tends to draw thousands of people who gather by the busload to party on the island, according to the Port Clinton News Herald, a USA TODAY Network publication.
Mark Mathys, the owner of the Put-in-Bay Visitors and Convention Bureau, said that “Christmas in July” began as a family-friendly event about 40 years ago when boaters would dock at the island and decorate their vessels while playing festive music.
However, around 2017 a Detroit tourism company began hauling busloads of visitors to the island, who Mathys said became infamous for behaving unruly and drinking openly in public.
By 2019, “Christmas in July” was no longer officially sanctioned, a year after 27 people were arrested for taking part in brawls and committing other crimes. In recent years, the Chamber of Commerce has even encouraged local businesses to cease promoting the event and remove it from their event schedules in hopes that its popularity would fizzle.
In an effort to reinforce security, especially during the busier months, the Ottawa County Sheriff’s Office contracted this year with the Put-in-Bay township to take over jurisdictional duties in the island’s surrounding township. The Put-in-Bay Police, which previously patrolled the township, retains jurisdiction in the village itself, Levorchick said.
“We know it’s coming, our local law enforcement does the best they can, but we’re a small department,” Mathys told USA TODAY. “(The sheriff’s deputies’) presence defintely made a difference — it didn’t stop the behavior but it stopped it from getting to worse levels.”
Eric Lagatta covers breaking and trending news for USA TODAY. Reach him at elagatta@gannett.com and follow him on Twitter @EricLagatta.

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