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Herd mellow during Livestock
By BRADY DENNIS, Times Staff Writer ZEPHYRHILLS -- As Livestocks go, this one was tame. That might seem strange, considering that nearly 70 people were arrested over the weekend, most of them on drug-related charges. But no one died of a drug overdose this year, no drunken drivers plowed a car through a crowd, and no one slaughtered a cow -- all occurences at past Livestock festivals. Of course, there was the usual dose of partying and mosh pits and public nudity among the 30,000-plus concertgoers. But for an event that has earned a heavy-metal reputation, this crowd displayed more of a Jimmy Buffett atmosphere. Why? Area officials attributed much of the change to the proactive work of law enforcement officers, who began arresting suspected drug offenders before the first band ever played. "We had a tremendously low turnout of overdose cases, considerably less than we've ever had," said Jerry Sterner, spokesman for East Pasco Medical Center in Zephyrhills. Sterner said the hospital treated 38 patients from Livestock over the weekend, down from 65 last year. Most of the cases involved only minor injuries and heat-related problems. "It's because of the good work by law enforcement and the procedures taken to keep things under control," Sterner said. "They kept a good watch on things. There was a lot of preparation." Pasco County sheriff's spokesman Jon Powers said that deputies, many of them undercover, arrested 66 people over the weekend, on charges ranging from marijuana possession to intent to sell nitrous oxide, better known as "laughing gas." Zephyrhills police officers arrested several more Livestock patrons on drug charges inside the city limits, and they handed out a few trespassing citations at the hospital. The vast majority of arrests were made outside the park, however. The others happened on adjacent properties or along U.S. 301. The more aggressive enforcement outside the festival was "obviously for safety reasons," Powers said. "It was an attempt to make the grounds themselves safer for concertgoers," he said. "If you can put a halt to some of the (criminal) activity prior to it reaching the grounds, that's what we were attempting to do." Powers said he wasn't sure yet if deputies will seek out offenders as aggressively next year. "We haven't had the chance to debrief yet and see whether it was cost effective," he said. "We'll be evaluating the activities, and we'll make a decision based on manpower." Sterner said whatever authorities decide to do, he hopes the decline in emergency visits continues next year, when Livestock 13 rolls into town. "There were a lot of preparations," he said. "We're very pleased that the concert went off as well as it did." -- Brady Dennis covers the city of Zephyrhills and crime in east Pasco. To reach him, call (352) 521-5757, ext. 23, or toll free at 1-800-333-7505, ext. 6108, then 23. His e-mail address is dennis@sptimes.com.
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From today's Pasco Times |
