For Megan Turcotte, police trouble isn’t something she, or other students, want to trick or treat for.
“(Minor in possessions, or MIPs) — they give them out like candy, almost, over here,” the supply chain management senior said. “So I think that everyone was extra cautious because (they know) that Halloween is a drinking holiday.”
As students took to the streets of East Lansing garbed in scary, risqué or “downright hilarious” Halloween costumes this past weekend, the local police were on patrol.
“(Halloween) is a pretty big event in this town, (and) it has always been known as one of the major nights or holidays concerning the bars,” said Capt. Bill Mitchell of the East Lansing Police Department, or ELPD.
Mitchell said this past Halloween weekend required the same preparation as a home football game. To keep the city at bay, city police invited officers from the Michigan State Police and the mounted horse police to come to East Lansing to help on the busy weekend.
Anthropology junior Dana Knight, who dressed as a “Phantom of the Opera”-type character, said although she did not feel an overwhelming police presence, she and her friends were careful to keep partying under control.
“My friend actually asked me to help get people inside because she was afraid that the cops were going to stop by because there were so many people just out on the sidewalk,” Knight said.
ELPD Sgt. Carl Nowak said some of the charges issued during the holiday were for minors drinking alcohol, individuals operating a vehicle while intoxicated or holding an open intoxicant. He added a few dumpsters also were lit on fire.
But according to MSU police, most of the holiday’s activity occurred in the city of East Lansing, rather than the campus.
MSU police Sgt. Florene McGlothian-Taylor said Halloween parties aren’t something MSU police typically have to deal with, as they are held in the city rather than on campus.
Secondary education senior Jordan Parks said although he did not notice or worry about the police throughout the weekend, he had friends who did.
“My friend, on Friday night, got into (a bar) with a fake ID; and he was getting kind of scared,” Parks said chuckling. “He was like, ‘Oh, there’s cops,’ and I was like, ‘No, that’s a person dressed up as a cop.’”
Although he still expects Wednesday to be a busy night, Nowak said because Halloween falls on a school and work night, the city of East Lansing will be manageable.
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