Boston Had a Sloppy St. Patrick’s Day Parade

Police cited almost 500 people for public drinking, nearly twice as many as last year.

As expected, revelers got pretty sloppy during this year’s St. Patrick’s Day parade in South Boston.

According to Boston.com, police handed out 498 citations for public drinking during last weekend’s festivities. The figure is nearly double the amount that were handed out last year, as only 278 citations were issued at the 2015 parade.

“Issuing nearly double the amount of citations for public drinking compared to last year evidences the challenges we faced in keeping public order at this family event,” Boston Police Commissioner William Evans said in a statement. “I want to thank all of those who braved the cold and came out and celebrated responsibly.”

While the number of public drinking citations went up big time, the number of arrests actually went down by half. BPD made 10 arrests during the 2015 parade, compared to only five this year.

According to Patch, the five men who were taken into custody at the 2016 parade include Paul Leahy of Dedham, William Bronske of Quincy, Jonathan Gentile of West Bridgewater, Andrew Cohoon of Bridgewater, and Joshua Ferris of Brimfield. They were arrested for charges including disorderly conduct, destruction of property, assault and battery on a police officer, and drinking in public.

The men are set to be arraigned in a South Boston District Court.