Police Investigating Crowded Lake Party In Cass County

casscountysheriff-58
casscountysheriff-58

The Cass County Sheriff’s Department is looking at possible charges that could be filed over a Fourth of July party on the Diamond Lake sandbar that attracted hundreds of people who made little effort to social distance. A video of the Independence Day bash has more than 10 million views on social media. The Cass County Sheriff’s Department says it has never been in support of the sandbar party because of problems with partiers cutting through private property to reach it. Prior to this year’s event, the department says it reached out to the Michigan Department of Natural Resources to ask about controlling it with a permitting process, but was told the DNR “did not see the need for a permit for the sandbar event.” The sheriff’s office also reached out to the party’s organizers and was told steps would be taken to enforce social distancing. The department writes, “The sheriff’s department cannot keep events like this from happening on the lake” and that it never worked in conjunction with the organizers. It’s now investigating, and says the “Cass County Prosecutor will be forwarded any and all possible criminal charges involved to be reviewed.”

The sheriff’s full statement is below:

7-4-2020-release-Diamond-Lake01085420200706152444