Coconino County, AZ; The 2023 Memorial Day Weekend, encompassing May 26-29, resulted in a significant increase in calls for service and incidents stemming from outdoor activity in Northern Arizona.
The Memorial Day Weekend resulted in a significant number of calls stemming from outdoor activity in Northern Arizona. Sheriff Deputies worked closely with Officers from the United States Forest Service, National Park Service, Arizona Game and Fish, and other Northern Arizona public safety agencies to address the increased outdoor activity. Community and forest patrols increased the safety of the community we serve. CCSO concentrated on enforcement measures relating to off highway vehicle (OHV) operations as well.
For the period of July May 26 through May 29 deputies responded to 993 calls for service, including both citizen and officer-initiated activities:
Activity/Nature of Call for Service and Total Number by Call Type:
Agency Assist 28
Attempt to Locate 14
Business Checks 58
Disturbing the Peace 25
Domestic Violence Related Incident 3
DUI Arrests 5
Emergency (911) Hang-Ups 55
Emergency Medical Calls 41
Forest and Community Patrols 328
OHV/ATV Contacts 78
National Forest Assists 62
Search and Rescue/ Missing Persons 11
Suspicious Activity 18
Arrests 16
Speed and Traffic Citations 82
Total Traffic Stops 221
Here are some notes on statistics and noteworthy events that occurred over the weekend:
Traffic Stops/ Traffic Enforcement: Deputies throughout the county conducted 221 traffic stops during the holiday weekend, resulting in 12 arrests and 82 citations.
Off Road Vehicle (OHV) Activity: Deputies contacted 78 Off Highway Vehicles (OHV) over the weekend. There were 7 OHV related crashes that CCSO responded to in the county.
Impaired Driving: Deputies made 5 arrests for driving while impaired. One of the 5 arrests was for Aggravated DUI. This driver was operating a vehicle at a high rate of speed on Lake Mary Road with 2 children under 6 years of age unrestrained in the vehicle. The other 4 DUI arrests resulted in misdemeanor charges. The average breath alcohol of the suspects arrested was .140 BrAC. The legal limit in Arizona is .08 BrAC.
Boat Contacts: CCSO Deputies on boat patrol contacted 80 vessels over the weekend on Lake Powell. These contacts resulted in 4 citations and several warnings. CCSO also investigated 2 boat related Collisions.
Community Emergency Response Team (CERT): The Coconino County Sheriff’s Office CERT team staffed a OHV informational checkpoint on Forest Road 240 near Munds Park over the weekend. They contacted several OHV operators and provided safety information.
Detention Facility: The Coconino County Detention Facility Flagstaff Facility receives arrested persons from Coconino Sheriff’s Office, Flagstaff Police Department, Northern Arizona University Police, Williams Police, Arizona Department of Public Safety, and state and federal agencies in the area such as the National Park Service, US Forest Service, and Arizona Game and Fish.
During the period of May 26 – 29, a total of 65 persons were booked (9 of these were at the Page Facility).