LeAnne Rogers

Hometown Life

When the Pokemon Go craze started a few weeks ago, the staff at Cadillac Memorial Gardens West had a sign welcoming players.

“Initially we thought school is out and we would get some kids on bikes,” said Donna Campbell of Midwest Memorial Group which owns the cemetery. “We thought we would talk with them about cemetery etiquette.”

That’s what happened for a few days, but on the weekend the cemetery on Ford Road in Westland was being overtaken by Pokemon Go players.

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“It was adults in cars. It was getting to be a distraction. They were blocking the roadway. We had (funeral) processions,” Campbell said.

Those disruptions at the cemetery resulted in complaints from people with loved ones buried at Cadillac Memorial Garden West.

The company has contacted the company behind Pokemon Go and requested that the cemetery be removed as a site in the game. In the interim, the cemetery has posted a sign requesting that all visitors conduct themselves in a respectful manner.

“One person was at the grave of a loved one and was taking a photo with a cell phone,” Campbell said. “A Pokemon player came over thinking it was part of the game.”

The cemetery has hired a security guard to patrol from 6:30 p.m. to 6:30 a.m. to keep out any trespassers.

Westland Police spokesman Sgt. Robert Wilke reports that officers have had to multiple people about trespassing due to the game but there haven’t been any specific large-scale incidents.

People arriving for a Wayne City Council meeting found the parking lot behind city hall filled with cars as adjoining Goudy Park is a popular Pokemon Go site.

Wayne Police report having had to clear approximately 150 people playing Pokemon Go from Goudy Park recently at about 1 a.m. City ordinance requires people to leave the city parks at dark.

The department put out a reminder about being in the parks after dark — that same rule applies to cemeteries in the city.

LeAnne Rogers is a reporter for Hometown Life. Contact her at lrogers@hometownlife.com, 734-883-9039 or on Twitter: @LRogersObserver.