By Alyssa Schnugg
News editor
With thousands of visitors in town over the weekend for myriad events, Oxford police kept busy.
“For the first time in two years there were no concerns of Covid,” Oxford Police Department Chief Jeff McCutchen said Monday. “It felt like a back-to-normal spring weekend.”
McCutchen said while it was a bustling weekend in town it wasn’t quite as crowded as a home football game in the fall.
“But there were a lot of people in town,” he said.
OPD reported 15 wrecks with 32 arrests – six for DUI and 11 for public drunkenness.
“Overall, I believe that we had a successful weekend,” McCutchen said. “We were able to balance public safety and help create an enjoyable environment around town.”
The Oxford Film Festival was held over the weekend, bringing in directors, screenwriters, movie crews and actors from all over the country for the five-day in-person event. The Ole Miss Rebels softball team played and won against Missouri on Saturday at home and the Ole Miss Baseball team played, and lost, against Tennessee at home.
OPD used a few extra officers to supplement its patrol division, expecting a busy weekend.
“We have been able to hire several officers over the past few weeks,” McCutchen said. “This has allowed us to bring our staffing numbers up, which allows us to build coverage around the square while supporting our patrol division.”
