Photo: Panama City Police Department/Facebook
Over 160 people were booked into a Panama City Beach, Florida jail over the weekend as local authorities cracked down on spring break festivities that got out of hand.
The BCSO responded to just under 860 calls for service over the busy weekend, 548 of which were from “beach zones,” with assistance from the Panama City Police Department, Springfield Police Department, the Florida Highway Patrol and the Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission.
Commenting on the commotion, Panama City Beach police chief J.R. Talamantez said Sunday that “there are no words that can describe the way they have behaved themselves, conducted themselves and the amount of laws they have broken,” perCBS News.
“We are doing the best to manage this situation,” he added.
Getty
BCSO Sheriff Tommy Ford stressed that officials “will not tolerate this criminal activity” in the area in the news release published Monday, alongside images of the confiscated firearms from a press conference held earlier in the day.
“Each one of these 75 illegal firearms represents a violent armed encounter with law enforcement,” Ford said at thebriefing. “This weekend could have very well resulted in tragedy of a law enforcement loss of life, a citizen’s loss of life and even a bad guy’s loss of life.”
In Monday’s news release, Ford said, “I assure you; it will not be a ‘REAL FUN BEACH’ inside the Bay County Jail. If you come here to act like a criminal, we will treat you like one.”
Ford credited the officers' crowd control success to the regions' Bay Real Time Operations Center (BayROC), which Ford called “a game changer” in their efforts to maintain order. The technology is used to “target trouble spots and spontaneous crowds” according to the PCPD’s news release.
BayROC also informed law enforcement agencies about specific Takeover attendees, allowing law enforcement “to specifically target and disrupt activities.”
Panama City police chief Mark Smith offered similar sentiments inhis department’s own news release, calling the weekend " a difficult and trying one for our team" in uniform.
“To those individuals that think they can come to our city and break the law, we will be waiting for you with the promise to be professional and intolerant, and you will be held accountable for your actions,” he said.
Talamantez said Sunday that “nothing is off the table” regarding a possible curfew, per CBS.
“I know the citizens are frustrated. Trust me, we are frustrated too,” Talamantez explained. “The harsh reality is we cannot control who comes to town. But what we can control is what happens to you if you commit a crime in this town. We will hold you accountable.”
source: people.com
