By Jenny Michael
Bismarck Tribune
BURLEIGH COUNTY, ND — With a few days to go until Independence Day, area law enforcement officers have already started receiving complaints about fireworks.
The Burleigh County Sheriff’s Department and the Mandan Police Department have been receiving complaints about fireworks being shot off for a few days.
“We’ve been getting them since last Thursday or Friday,” Mandan Police Deputy Chief Paul Leingang said.
By state law, fireworks can be shot off from June 27 to July 5. However, cities can set restrictions within their limits. Fireworks are prohibited in Bismarck, and the ordinance outlaws anything sold at a fireworks stand that has to be ignited, including sparklers and snakes. Sale, possession or discharge of fireworks within city limits is a Class B misdemeanor, punishable by up to 30 days in jail and fines of up to $1,000.
In Mandan, fireworks can be shot off from 12 p.m. to 12 a.m. on July 2 and 3, and from 12 p.m. July 4 to 2 a.m. July 5. Violating the times and dates or using bottle rockets is punishable by a $75 fine.
Leingang said the ordinance, which went into effect last year, has helped reduce the number of complaints lodged by the public during fireworks season. Mandan police had been getting approximately 125 fireworks complaints each year around July 4. Last year, they received 78 complaints. Leingang said that’s still a lot of reports, but the reduction helps officers already spread thin around the holiday.
Officers also are more likely to cite someone for violations now, since the offense is an infraction. When the offense was a misdemeanor, there were more warnings and fewer charges, Leingang said.
“The processes were longer in the past, and officers were probably a little less inclined to cite,” he said.
Burleigh County Sheriff’s Sgt. Steve Hall said there are no time limits on when fireworks can be shot off in the county. However, people lodge complaints about them anyway. Officers can investigate the complaints as potential disorderly conduct violations, in which they need to determine if a “reasonable person” would find the actions offensive, Hall said.
However, most complaints have been resolved by talking to the people lighting fireworks, Hall said.
Morton County also has no restrictions on when fireworks can be used from June 27 to July 5.
Hall said the Burleigh County Sheriff’s Department and Bismarck Rural Fire have been making sure all fireworks vendors in the county are licensed to sell pyrotechnics and have all safety measures in place.
Copyright 2010 The Bismarck Tribune, a division of Lee Enterprises