http://www.dailynews.com/general-news/20140111/pasadena-police-pleased-with-rose-bowl-weeks-see-something-say-something-campaign
By Sarah Favot, January 11, 2014
Protestors with the Occupy Movement fall in behind at the end of the Rose Parade in Pasadena, Calif. Jan. 1, 2014.
PASADENA>> While close to 1 million people descended on the
city since Jan. 1 for Tournament of Roses festivities and the college
football’s national championship game, aside from a protest a Pasadena
Police Department official said the total number of arrests were down
compared to last year.
“Our perspective of all three events is
they went very well,” said Police Department spokeswoman Lt. Tracey
Ibarra. “People enjoyed them.”
The Police Department announced in
a news conference before the Rose Parade and Rose Bowl Game it had
stepped up security measures after taking months to study recent events
like the Boston Marathon bombings, where three people were killed and
260 were injured at the finish line of the internationally watched
event.
More bomb-sniffing police dogs patrolled the parade route and
police had teamed up with local businesses along Colorado Boulevard to
ensure the police had full-time access to private security cameras if
they needed it.
Ibarra said the months of preparation that went into the events paid off.
The
department had launched a “See Something, Say Something” campaign
throughout the week encouraging spectators to call police if they saw
any suspicious activity.
Ibarra said she knows about a couple
calls to police that people made who were concerned about abandoned
backpacks. She could not immediately provide the total number of calls
made to police.
Police arrested 48 people across the city between 4 p.m. on New
Year’s Eve and 11 p.m. on New Year’s Day, according to documents
obtained by this newspaper.
Those arrests included 16 People for
Ethical Treatment of Animals protesters, including a 12-year-old girl,
who were arrested at the beginning of the Rose Parade on New Year’s Day
because they attempted to stop the SeaWorld float from sailing down
Colorado Boulevard.
Twenty-three people were arrested throughout
the city Monday, the day of the BCS National Championship game at the
Rose Bowl between Auburn University and Florida State University. Twelve
of those arrests were at the Rose Bowl, mainly on charges of public
intoxication.
Police had originally said 19 PETA protestors were arrested last
week, but after reviewing arrest data, just 16 protestors were arrested,
Ibarra confirmed.
“PETA was there, of course they have the right
of freedom of speech, but they did not have the right to disrupt the
parade and because our officers stepped in, they did not disrupt the
parade and the parade proceeded forward,” Ibarra said.
Police had
been prepared for the PETA protesters. PETA had demonstrated at a
number of Tournament of Roses events throughout the fall and had planned
to protest the parade.
The total number of arrests of people who were camping overnight on New Year’s Eve along the parade route was down.
Lt.
Terysa Rojas said 13 people who were camping out along Colorado
Boulevard between 5 p.m. on New Year’s Eve and 5 a.m. on New Year’s Day
were arrested, including six on charges of public intoxication, two
warrant arrests, one traffic violation, one resisting arrest, one
battery and one felony grand theft. She said one juvenile was arrested
on charges of public intoxication.
The previous year, 23 people were arrested overnight: 22 of those arrests were on charges of public intoxication.
“We have deputies assigned to every block,” said Ibarra. “Alcohol
is usually the biggest factor that we face as reflected last year ...
But we had less alcohol-related arrests this year.”
Most of those arrests on New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day took place along Colorado Boulevard or in Old Pasadena.
Five
arrests occurred at the Rose Bowl around the time of the Rose Bowl
Game, including two public intoxication arrests, one for resisting,
delaying or obstructing an officer and two Pasadena Municipal Code
violations.
Four people were arrested on charges of driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs.
One person was arrested on charges of possession of a controlled substance.