BOLIVAR PENINSULA, Texas — During Go Topless Jeep Weekend, 184 arrests were made, 194 misdemeanor charges were filed, 18 felony charges were filed and trash was left on Crystal Beach.
“This weekend was worse than what we’ve seen in the past,” Captain Mark McGaffey with the Galveston County Sheriff’s Office said. “It was an unruly crowd."
Go Topless Jeep Weekend is a weekend on the Bolivar Peninsula that is well known for the fun and trouble is usually brings.
More than 30 people were injured during the event. Eight people were flown to a hospital, including a Galveston County deputy who was hit by a suspected drunk driver and suffered two broken legs, an arm injury and a head injury.
In addition to the arrests and injuries, beachgoers also had to deal with the trash left behind. Capt. McGaffey said it was mostly area volunteers who helped clean the beach on Sunday and Monday.
Trash was taken off the beach and put into trash bags.
"We saw a lot of people picking up after the whole event,” Belem Mendoza, beachgoer, said. “It's kind of sad though, that people come here to enjoy the beach and they just leave a complete mess."
Mendoza and her family drove from San Antonio for a weekend at the beach. They had no idea what awaited them.
“It was very packed,” Mendoza said. “People everywhere.”
Those who live on the Peninsula said the trash left behind was not anything new and that trash is left behind during other beach events as well.
"We picked up a few things, but you know, it happens even when we have other events down here,” Penny Glaesman, Bolivar Peninsula resident, said.
Glaesman and her husband have lived on the Bolivar Peninsula for five years and love jeep weekend. However, they know not everyone feels that way.
“It's probably those that have been here longer than our five years,” Glaesman said. “You know, they're just seeing their Peninsula change. It's not the same Peninsula.”
Capt. McGaffey said the hard part about regulating an event like topless is that law enforcement can’t keep people off a public beach.
“Something may change later," Capt. McGaffey said. "But at this point, there's all we can do is manage it and try to control."
The suspected drunk driver who hit the deputy is facing felony charges.