St. Paddy's Day Busy, But Less Trouble Than Last Year, Says Chief

A year ago, Royal Oak police made more than a dozen arrests on St. Patrick's day, including a shirtless man who tried to incite a crowd outside Woody's.

But this year's festivities were much less unruly.

"St. Patrick's Day was busy but there was not too much trouble," said Royal Oak Police Chief Corrigan O'Donohue, adding there was only one incident worth noting.

"We did have a person arrested for assaulting a security guard outside of O'Tooles," O'Donohue said.

Crowds were steady on St. Partick's day, but nothing compared to 2012 when the patron saint of Ireland's feast day fell on a Saturday and police made 13 arrests, including four arrests outside Woody’s, six drunken driving arrests, a couple of miscellaneous arrests, and a 19-year-old man who was drinking in his car was arrested after assaulting two people near Barnes & Noble.

"I think people dial things up a notch on Saturdays," O'Donohue said. "And, we are doing different things with staffing that helps, too."