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Show A-4 Wed/Thurs/Fri, January 23-25, 2019 The Park Record City Beat CITY EDITOR: JAY HAMBURGER 649–9014 EXT. 15711 | citynews@parkrecord.com Police brace for Sundance PARK RECORD FILE PHOTO The Park City Police Department is jammed during the Sundance Film Festival responding to traffic issues, parking problems and disorderly people. Police officers also monitor demonstrations, like a 2010 event that centered on a controversial California ballot measure against same-sex marriage, shown. The Police Department has devised a law enforcement plan for this year’s Sundance Film Festival that includes tapping reinforcements and creating a Sundance-only patrol zone covering the Main Street core. Park City agency creates a fest-only patrol zone JAY HAMBURGER The Park Record ENJOY PROVISIONS AFTER DARK N o w S e r vi n g D i n n e r 4 p m t o 9 p m N i g h t l y, W a l k-i n s o n l y. The Sundance Film Festival cast includes filmmakers, celebrities and film lovers. And numerous law enforcement officers. The festival is typically the busiest stretch of the year for the Park City Police Department, the agency that protects the crowds and the festival venues within the city limits. Other agencies like the Summit County Sheriff’s Office are heavily involved as well, but it is normally the Police Department in Park City that is called for a litany of festival issues. It is almost certain there will be complaints about parking problems during Sundance as the large crowds arrive. People will also undoubtedly drink too much alcohol and make too much noise, drawing the attention of the police. The Police Department is generally busiest during the jammed opening weekend of Sundance, but officers continue to hop throughout the 11 days of Sundance. Main Street always reaches a critical mass even as the police calls also spread through the neighborhoods. There could be belligerent people on Main Street at the same time as someone in Prospector complains about cars parked in places where they should not be. “Unique and interesting experience,” Andrew Leatham, a Police Department captain, said as he described the work of law enforcement during Sundance. Leatham is a crucial member of the law enforcement team that crafts the operational plans for special events like Sundance. The Police Department closely guards some of the details for security purposes, but aspects of the plans the department discusses publicly provide an intriguing glimpse at one of the critical components of the overall Sundance planning. “You don’t become a police officer to be bored,” Leatham said, adding about Sundance, “There’s an excitement to it, even for police officers.” Leatham said the Police Department as part of the planning for Sundance creates a temporary patrol zone separate from the ones in place the rest of the year. There are normally just two patrol zones. The Sundance-only patrol zone covers the Main Street core. It runs, east to west, from Swede Alley to Park Avenue and, north to south, from the 900 block to the 100 block of the streets. The patrol zone is an especially busy part of Park City during Sundance. The traffic can be terrible, noisiness and drunkenness are com- monplace and demonstrations sometimes require the attention of the police. The zones are designed to ensure the Police Department is able to juggle the reports related to the festival crowds and the other calls from Parkites. The police officers also can have a role in protecting celebrities even as the actors or actresses travel with their own security. Leatham said celebrities are not treated differently than anyone else. He said, though, the Police Department would intervene if there was a specific security threat involving a celebrity. He said there is “generally very minimal” interaction between the police and celebrities. The Police Department taps reinforcements during Sundance even as the agency’s own officers work extensive hours. During the opening weekend, Leatham said, more than double the number of officers are scheduled to be on duty than would otherwise have shifts. Some will be conducting traffic patrols while others will be assigned to Sundance venues or Main Street. Officers will also conduct foot patrols on Main Street. The reinforcements will come from agencies like the Summit County Sheriff’s Office, the Office of the Attorney General of Utah and the FBI. “It’s big and it’s busy,” Leatham said, adding, “It requires us to bring in resources.” imately 4:30 p.m., when the Police Department received a series of calls about a man riding a camel on Main Street and Park Avenue. Officers found the man and the camel and determined the person was distributing fliers promoting a film that had not been selected as a Sundance entry. The police wrote the man a ticket on a count of obstructing traffic. • Jan. 20, 2014 in the late morning, when a gifting suite on Main Street reported missing pairs of shoes. The police were told a hotel employee apparently told coworkers the shoes, which were brought to Sundance to be given to celebrities, were free for the workers. The police said 63 pairs of shoes, considered to be swag, were mistakenly given to the workers. The shoes, combined, were valued at $2,200, the police said. The Police Department indicated the case was resolved with law enforcement action. • Jan. 25, 2015 at 12:44 a.m., when police officers were called to a Main Street nightclub. A woman who was suspected to be intoxicated would not leave the establishment and showed her breasts on a rear balcony. The woman was disorderly toward the nightclub staff and police officers as they attempted to subdue her. • Jan. 19, 2014 at 3:07 p.m., when a passenger in a taxi re- portedly refused to pay a $32 taxi fare along Prospector Avenue. The police were told the person did not want to pay since the charge was double the normal fare. The police said the case was civil rather than criminal in nature. • Jan. 18, 2014 at 1:14 p.m. on Main Street, where someone was reported to be “yelling communist phrases out the windows.” The person was also soliciting money, the police were told. • Jan. 16, 2014 at 1:55 p.m., when a goat was seen on a leash on Main Street • Jan. 22, 2017 at 7:35 a.m., when the police were told 40 cases of beer and alcohol mixers were stolen in Park City the day before the call to the police. The Police Department indicated the case was civil rather than criminal in nature. • Jan. 20, 2012 at 6:49 p.m., when City Hall staffers reported there was an “electronic saucer” on Main Street. The police were told the saucer might have been a deejay booth and there was concern someone would start “jamming.” • Jan. 20, 2012 at 8:33 p.m., when the police logged a report that a person who appeared to be a bodyguard refused to let people into a public restroom on Main Street. It was not clear from public police logs who the person might have been protecting. Oddball calls are expected The police each year field list of zany reports JAY HAMBURGER The Park Record BREAKFAST - LUNCH - APRES - DINNER Try Signature Dishes like Halibut Tacos or Short-Rib Stroganoff. See our full menu online at riverhorseprovisions.com Open Daily 7:30am-9pm 221 Main Street, Park City BRING THIS AD IN FOR 15% OFF YOUR BILL Order on line through or download our App at The Park City Police Department over the years has responded to numerous oddball incidents during the Sundance Film Festival in addition to the traffic problems, the disorderliness and drunkenness that come with the 11-day event each year. The department’s public police logs, sometimes known as the police blotter, each year shows officers sometimes are dealing with calls that would be considered mundane while at other times they may be sent to help a celebrity move about the crowds. The Police Department in 2010 was quickly made aware of graffiti that appeared just before the start of Sundance only to later learn the pieces were Banksy artworks. And the Police Department and the FBI in 2017 investigated a cyberattack during the busy opening weekend of Sundance that targeted the festival’s box-office operations. Some of the cases in recent years that illustrate the zaniness of the festival include: • Jan. 18, 2013 at approx- |