Big Crowds Descend Upon I.V.
Police Report Many People; Few Problems
Despite the more than 40,000 people who were in Isla Vista on Halloween night, police reported that only 200 citations were served, with 159 of those actually being booked and brought into the station. “There were some drugs and fighting, but the majority were drunk in publics,” said Lt. Brian Olmstead of the I.V. Foot Patrol. “There were quite a few more people than last year.” Two people were reported as cliff casualties, with one of the fall victims suffering minor injuries and the other none at all. Personnel manning the medical tent said that they treated about 40 people on Friday.
A survey of the action on Del Playa Drive revealed, as was expected, throngs of people in costume, peppered by the occasional group of medical personnel and law enforcement officials tending to one of the less fortunate revelers. According to Lt. Olmstead, just over 240 officers and deputies were on scene for the night shifts, and a line of about eight ambulances were queued behind the I.V. Theater. The crowd was thinner on Saturday night, and a steady rain began to fall just after midnight, driving still more people from the streets. However the rain was no deterrent for KEYT-3 news anchor John Palminteri, who was seen wending his way through the damp crowd on the 6500 block of Del Playa Drive.
Concrete statistics are not yet available for Saturday night, but Sheriff’s Department officials opined that there were fewer people and less casualties due to the rain.
