Barricades, DUI checkpoints, watch tower among Columbia police plans
If you’re going downtown this weekend, you’ll have plenty of company.
Columbia police have taken public outcry surrounding recent violence in Five Points to heart — they’ll be out en masse to patrol the bar district this weekend, which is expected to be packed before and after the primetime South Carolina–Georgia football game.
The department will spend $11,830 in total pay for its officers in Five Points alone, 94 percent of which will be overtime pay, according to Assistant Chief of Police Leslie Wiser. The 53 officers they’ll deploy block-by-block won’t be alone, either.
They’re calling in nearly everyone but the National Guard.
Gang-fighting units; an organized crime recognizance unit; a firearms prevention team; Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearm agents; Richland County Sheriff’s Department; USC police; and military police from Fort Jackson will help monitor the area. While the military officers don’t have jurisdiction to arrest citizens, they’ll aid in helping process arrested offenders, Wiser said.
“We will have a significant presence to maintain order in Five Points to protect people and the neighboring communities,” Wiser said.
Other new installations for the weekend could include:
— Speed bumps to slow down traffic
— Observation towers used in Five Points for St. Patrick’s Day
—Multiple DUI checkpoints
— Police barricades, at the police chief’s discretion
— A booking station, paddy wagons and possibly even a bus in Five Points to quickly deal with arrested offenders
The fire department will send marshals from bar to bar to ensure fire code regulations are being followed, Fire Chief Aubrey Jenkins said.
“We check clubs for overcrowding and make sure the fire codes are adhered to, so if something (violent) does happen, people are not obstructed as they try to leave,” Jenkins said.
The “very aggressive” policing, as Wiser termed it, is due to both a projection of the sheer number of people expected in town for the sold-out, nationally televised game and a large-scale response on the heels of a handful of high-profile incidents, including two assaults and random gunfire, that startled the community last week.
Wiser said the escalation in police presence for the weekend is a short-term solution and emphasized his belief that the department needs to install a strong hospitality team of about 15 people who have contacts within the community and can help the normal officers.
“The pace we’re at ,” Wiser said referencing the resources being poured in for the weekend, “we cannot sustain that for long term.”
It’s not just the city that’s concerned about the recent violence.
As University of South Carolina students comprise much of the after-hours population of Five Points, the school’s administration and student leaders have joined in the effort to fix the issues. Student Body President Kenny Tracy visited Tuesday’s City Council meeting along with Erik Singleton, Tracy’s secretary of safety and transportation and Ryan Bailey, chairman of the senate safety and transportation committee. The three spoke with both Columbia Mayor Steve Benjamin and Wiser about the issues and how they could be addressed in a partnership between the city and the university.
“We’re trying to figure out a solution, and we’re down here to get the city’s perspective,” Tracy said. “We need the city’s help, and the city needs our help.”
USC President Harris Pastides said he’d spoken with Benjamin earlier Tuesday morning.
“We reiterated that we’re going to work collaboratively on this,” Pastides said. He said the university and the city, while separate entities, have “fluid borders” and must see this as a joint issue.
Both Pastides and Benjamin said by no means do they want to discourage students, or anyone, for that matter, from going to Five Points. Pastides said he’s considering visiting himself after the game Saturday, as he’s heard a lot of talk about the issues and wants to see them firsthand.
“We’ll see how I feel after the game,” he said with a laugh. “That’s more likely after a victory.”