This was a small story on the tv news. Their website had this http://wjxt.com/webcast/topstory.htm the spin was riot gear was needed for New Year's Eve party. Anyone know more about this?

-- Aventine (Aventine@webtv.net), November 10, 1999

Answers

Aventine!? This you? Our friend from the ListServ?

-- Ashton & Leska in Cascadia (allaha@earthlink.net), November 10, 1999.

[ Fair Use: For Educational/Research Purposes Only ]

Police are taking no chances on what could happen when the clock strikes midnight December 31st

Wednesday, November 10, 1999

From the Channel 4 newsroom, here's the transcript of today's top story:

Police are taking no chances on what could happen when the clock strikes midnight December 31st.

The Delta Field Force practiced this morning at Alltel Stadium.

The group of Jacksonville Sheriff's Officers are specially trained in crowd control. The exercises simulate rescuing injured police officers or hauling off violent offenders all while shield bearing police march forward trying to maintain order and protect the public. Members of the force say they're gearing up to make the turn of the century celebrations safe.

Lt. Gene Bailey\Delta Field Force:
"WE'LL BE ON PATROL, WORKING SPECIAL ASSIGNMENTS FOR THE MILLENNIUM. SHOULD WE BE NEEDED, WE'LL BE PULLED OUT AND FORM A PASSE FIELD FORCE."

Police say since its inception the Delta Field Force has never been used.

TRAINING EXERCISES in CROWD CONTROL

Florida

-- Ashton & Leska in Cascadia (allaha@earthlink.net), November 10, 1999.

I live in a small midwestern town (about 30,000 people). Every new years eve for 10 years the downtown businesses have sponsored "Eve on the Ave"... A new years party on main street usa. It was always cold, but fun.

Yesterdays newspaper headline story announced that the Ave Bash will come early this year. It will run from 3-7 pm (in order to make it a more "family affair"---right!)

These same clowns ran a town meeting a few months back letting everyone know how well prepared we are, and how NOTHING will go wrong, and if it does they are full of contingencies. I guess keeping people off the streets at midnight is one of their contingecies.

Jenny

-- Jenny (wertyui@opq.net), November 10, 1999.

Hello Leska, yes its me! I've been reading off and on since you told me about this forum. Just had not felt I had anything to report, until now. It was disturbing to see this on the local news and for them to act like this type of training and gear would be needed for party-goers. Hope you are well and your preps are going as planned. Great to hear from you.

-- Aventine (Aventine@webtv.net), November 10, 1999.

We live in a small town also (PNW, 18,000)the front page of the local paper a few weeks ago showed local and nearby law enforcement training for riot control. No real explanation other than a normal joint venture for the nearby small town law enforcement. This has NEVER been done before here (my family has lived here over 100 years). Doesn't seem to visibly impact any locals complacent thought processes however. *sigh*

-- Sammie (sammiex0@hotmail.com), November 10, 1999.

Aventine, so nice to see you! :-) Lurking for almost a year, eh? ;^) Feel that weird disconnect when you start to see evidence close to home that all this just might be true? *strumming* Twilight Zone

So is Y2K still taboo topic on the Anne Rice ListServ? Those dumbscoffs -- if anybody should have GI, it was readers of history, rise & fall of civilizations! Oh well. Our time is limited and this incredible, wonderful Forum takes up 99% of it :-)

Jenny, your town is a little wiser to hold the party earlier. Every tiny effort counts. Puddle Town near us first wanted to hold their Smasheroo for 100,000 WITH alchohol; the Police Honcho said he didn't even want to go to a party without alchohol! We semi-politely informed them they were insane buttheads, so they went all the way to NYC to "consult" with the "pros." Voila! No alchohol for the "family" party! But they still are revving the bands until 1:15/a.

Maybe if we started charging $500/hour for our common-sense expertise, somebody would listen? Nah.

White House shelling $15 Million for another Happy Face Blitz. Meanwhile every village Delta Force is gearing for SWAT Crowd Control. And nobody Gets It while the TimeBomb ticks away ...

-- Ashton & Leska in Cascadia (allaha@earthlink.net), November 10, 1999.

Yea, I saw it too. I have lived in Florida 39 years and I have never seen anything like that planned for New Years Eve.

It looked liked definite riot/crowd control ( batons, face shields , horses , and a strange comment about how policeman on horses tend to frighten people, that's why they will be using them ), a question I have is why did they allow these exercises to be broadcast ? Were they trying to intimidate viewers ?

Boy, I was starting to feel somewhat relaxed/polly about the rollover, this story gave me the creeps.

I was

-- Stanley Lucas (StanleyLucas@WebTv.net), November 10, 1999.

As a Jacksonville native I can attest to the fact that the police have been doing this 'drill' for several years now.

It actually got press this year.

Deano

-- Deano (deano@luvthebeach.com), November 10, 1999.

I should have added that the Gator Bowl game is typically New Years Eve. That's an additional 85,000 people downtown. Coupled with the folks that are already partying at The Landing, it could be in excess of 150,000 - 200,000 people.

Crowd control makes good sense here.

Deano

-- Deano (deano@luvthebeach.com), November 10, 1999.

it made me feel uncomfortable too

-- looked brutal (staying@home.nye), November 11, 1999.