SAN ANTONIO — San Antonio police are preparing for a safe Fiesta experience for the many people expected to attend.
The department will have its officers covering all major events downtown including NIOSA, Oyster Bake, Taste of New Orleans and many others.
They also want people to have a safe, sober ride home.
SAPD says it has spent months planning for the yearly celebration. That means accounting for any scenario that might come up.
In downtown areas like Market Square, it’s peaceful before San Antonio’s largest party begins.
“Staffing levels are good, we can always use more people downtown. But we rely on the community to be the eyes and ears for us,” Deputy Chief Hector Salas with SAPD said. They’ll have help from multiple law enforcement agencies to handle any possible threat.
“With everything that’s going on the U.S., we just need to be prepared. We’re working with our partners at the fire department making sure if there’s any type of critical incident, mass casualty event, we’re prepared,” Deputy Chief Salas said.
One of the biggest issues each year is drunk driving. Captain Michael Starnes, the Fiesta Incident Commander and Traffic and Emergency Operations Command said he has 30 years experience working Fiesta. It’s his third year being incident commander.
“There’s so many deaths on our city’s highways every year and every week due to these unfortunate crashes, and they’re 100% preventable. You know, call a friend, call an Uber, call a Lyft, call a cab. You know, there’s many resources out there during Fiesta,” Captain Starnes said. Other non-profits will also likely have resources out there to prevent people from drinking and driving.
DWI arrests have decreased, according to SAPD statistics.
Last year 154 arrests were made compared to 164 in 2021, 177 in 2019 and a high of 220 in 2018.
Officers will be watching people before they get on the road.
“We have a dedicated DWI unit. They pull extra duty during Fiesta to make sure we have more troops on the street,” Captain Starnes added.
SAPD said it will also have its Fusion Center supporting them, which helps agencies detect and prevent criminal activity.
On Wednesday at 8 p.m. at Alamo Stadium, SAPD will have its DWI roll call with other agencies, including the Bexar County Sheriff’s Office and Texas DPS to let the public know they and other agencies will be out looking for drunk drivers.