Police to pad patrols for Riverfest

Aim is to head off trouble from big crowds, sun and beer

5/22/14
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette/STEPHEN B. THORNTON
Ranea Elliott and her husband Mike Elliott, of Midlothian, Texas, help set up the Original Corn Roast booth Thursday afternoon as set up continues for this weekend's Riverfest in Little Rock.
5/22/14 Arkansas Democrat-Gazette/STEPHEN B. THORNTON Ranea Elliott and her husband Mike Elliott, of Midlothian, Texas, help set up the Original Corn Roast booth Thursday afternoon as set up continues for this weekend's Riverfest in Little Rock.

Foot traffic in downtown Little Rock during the Riverfest weekend will include extra police officers on patrol, according to officials who said they are increasing staffing and hours at the annual summer kickoff event.

Although Little Rock Police Department officials don't disclose the number of officers involved in operations, spokesman Lt. Sidney Allen said that more police, both uniformed and in plainclothes, will be working than last year to provide security and to maintain the peace as the area around President Clinton Avenue is flooded with thousands of visitors.

"Along with [security staff], we'll be providing security both inside and outside the event," Allen said. "We're trying to keep [the number of officers involved] a secret because we want that number to be as effective as possible, but we feel confident that we have adequate personnel to secure the event."

Shay Matyja, head of security for the event, said Riverfest will have about 50 or more licensed private-security guards working at the festival and that his guards will be increasing security at access points, including more "random" scans with wands and metal detectors at the gates.

Weapons of any kind, except for personal bottles of pepper spray, will not be allowed past the gates, Matyja said. Backpacks also will not be allowed unless they contain items for a child's need, such as diapers.

Alcohol often fuels the calls for security or police at the festival, whether it's underage drinking or beer-stoked fistfights, officials said.

In 2012, Little Rock police made 49 drinking-related arrests inside the festival and in the nearby blocks downtown. Last year, at 84, that figure nearly doubled.

Matyja said he didn't expect the numbers to change drastically this year.

"With the warm weather, I'm sure we'll have some people who enjoy the drinking. And I'm sure the beer sales will increase, and that's good, and sometimes some issues will arise," Matyja said. "We'll have some belligerents in the park, and we'll take care of those issues."

While alcohol offenses went up last year, major crimes, ranging from break-ins to robberies, have been heading downward since 2011. That year, there were at least four armed robberies, five thefts and four batteries, as well as several assaults and incidents of disorderly conduct reported in the downtown blocks surrounding the area.

The most serious event occurred when two large groups of teens congregated near what was then the Peabody Little Rock hotel and started fighting. The clash ended in gunfire that wounded a 15-year-old boy in the foot.

In the past, even the performers visiting haven't gone untouched by some of the crime the festival attracts.

After the headlining performance by post-grunge rock act Staind during the Friday night show in 2012, the band's guitarist, Mike Mushok, realized that his custom Paul Reed Smith seven-string baritone guitar was missing.

The guitar, valued at $10,000, surfaced at the Guitar Center on Chenal Parkway the next afternoon. Police arrested George Ikard, who later pleaded guilty to theft by receiving in his attempt to sell the instrument.

In 2013, officers mingled with the crowd, especially as people left at the end of the days' events. Authorities credit that tactic for the drop in the number of major incidents outside the Riverfest gates.

Allen said officers have carved the downtown area into compact zones that they are responsible for policing and will be supported by officers on bikes, Segways, golf carts and horseback to help bolster presence and visibility.

"It becomes a small city in and of itself, and in any city there will be a [criminal] event," Allen said. "[Officers] are out looking for people so they can spot things before they can happen."

The Pulaski County sheriff's office also will be providing deputies to assist with security on the Main Street Bridge.

Sheriff's office spokesman Lt. Carl Minden said his agency also will increase patrols for drunken boaters.

"We're just there for public safety and to make sure everything is copacetic," Minden said.

Metro on 05/23/2014

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