As the 4th of July holiday weekend events come to a close, most law enforcement agencies around the country will post stats for how many arrests they made, how many tickets they wrote, how many DWI cases were made, how many traffic accidents were worked, etc. And that’s a wonderful thing for the community to see that their law enforcement is out working, and proactively seeking to keep their community safe.  However, I want to give a different type of press release for our weekend.  Specifically, I want to highlight Saturday, July 1st, at Dam Site Park, where well over 1500 cars congregated to watch a spectacular fireworks display.  Most of those 1500+ cars were carrying multiple people, which means there was probably well over 5,000 people in the park for our fireworks show.  At the conclusion of the show, deputies assisted people leaving the park by directing constant flowing traffic for two hours.  Under normal circumstances, this would have led to fights, traffic accidents, and other alcohol-related events.  The Sheriff’s Office had 14 deputies in the park, along with the Boy Scouts, and the Corps of Engineers Rangers.  I am proud to announce our stats for Saturday, July 1 2017:

0 arrests

0 tickets written

0 accidents worked

0 alcohol-related incidents

0 calls for service

I want to take a few moments and compliment all of those people that came out to the park to enjoy the fireworks.  Thank you for choosing Cleburne County, thank you for choosing to spend your time with us.  Thank you coming out in full force, not only to watch the fireworks, but to spend time with family, and to celebrate a defining moment in our Nation’s history.  Most of all, thank you for being courteous, respectful, and patient with those around you, and with those that served in the park Saturday, making sure that everyone had a successful, and wonderful 4th of July celebration.  The fact that zero enforcement action had to be taken when so many people were confined in one place, is truly a testament to our community, and those that chose to visit this year.  Happy 4th, and God Bless America!

-Sheriff Chris Brown