Detroit police responded to large gatherings across the city over the three-day Memorial Day weekend, but Monday night was the roughest stretch as hundreds of teens flooded multiple areas and a swarm of ATVs and dirt bikes rolled through downtown Detroit. Officers issued 12 parental responsibility tickets and 10 curfew violations over the holiday period.

The city’s parks and streets started to fill as the weather warmed. Chandler Park was reported at capacity at 6:42 p.m. Monday, Rouge Park was shut down at 6:52 p.m., and officers were called back to Chandler Park at 6:57 p.m. after teens tried to return. By 7:38 p.m., a dispatcher reported juveniles running into a gas station at 7 Mile and Greenfield, followed a minute later by a smash-and-grab at the Family Dollar near Greenfield and 7 Mile Road. At 7:42 p.m., police received a report of 150 dirt bikes and mopeds with teens doing donuts at 7 Mile and Ryan.

Friday, Saturday and Sunday were relatively quiet as cloudy, rainy weather kept issues to a minimum. Monday changed that. Temperatures hovered in the high 70s, and the day brought the biggest concentration of complaints, with incidents spreading across downtown, Peterson Park, Chandler Park, Rouge Park and areas near 7 Mile and Greenfield.

Detroit police said they arrested two adults and issued two curfew violations tied to the problems at Peterson Park. Franklin Hayes said officers responded to several incidents connected to large gatherings over the holiday weekend and handled them effectively without major issues. He said the department had strategic plans in place, deployed resources across the city as needed and wanted people to gather responsibly.

The downtown ATV and dirt bike scene drew the sharpest attention. Darious Morris called it a rough night and said youths on ATVs took over traffic downtown, refused to cooperate with law enforcement and forced police to work to keep nobody hurt. Hayes said officers chose not to chase the riders because department policy bars pursuits for traffic violations and because a chase would have put bystanders at risk in the densely populated downtown. Instead, he said the department plans to use air support and technology to seize the vehicles and hold owners and operators accountable.

What Monday showed was not a one-off crowd problem but a test of how far teen takeovers can spread when the weather turns and the city fills up. Police said they kept control without major injuries, but the mix of park closures, street blockages, curfew violations and retail incidents left little doubt that the next large holiday crowd will meet a far more visible response.