The following press release covers the Bike Show committee's response to comments made by Snohomish Police Chief Rob Sofie to the Snohomish City Council in June 2001.
Seven local motorcyclists delivered the response to City Council on July 17, 2001. The Herald printed a story based on this press release on July 19, but some of the statements were misquoted. The Herald reporter was not present at the meeting, and thus the article only credits the Committee Chair.
Note: the web address listed in the Press Release has been updated.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT:
Brad Watson
Sky Valley Chapter, ABATE of Washington
360-568-7820
harleymanb@juno.com
http://www.snohomishbikeshow.org
Motorcycle Show Committee Responds to Police Chief's Comments
Snohomish, WA - July 17, 2001 - The Old Snohomish Antique and Classic Motorcycle Show and Sky Valley Chapter ABATE recognize that public safety is a concern at any large gathering. We firmly commit to working with the City Council, the Snohomish Police Department, and all City departments on issues regarding the bike show and all special events in Snohomish.
The main goal of the motorcycle show is to raise public awareness of motorcyclists on the roads and in our community. The recent newspaper articles show that many people are aware of our efforts this year. We had record attendance at the May 20 show, and now is time to begin considering changes and improvements for next year. We will begin by responding to the statements in the June 27 Snohomish County Tribune and the July 8 Herald. We defer comment on the Chief's entire report to the City Council until a future special event workshop
Officers "estimated there were 20,000 people in attendance that day between Union Street and Avenue D, nearly ten times the number indicated on the event's application."
A review of the 2001 application and Special Event - Staff Review - Routing Form, as presented for the 2/5/01 Citizen's Advisory Board meeting, reveals that there is no question on either form regarding the estimated number of attendance.
On the 2000 Event Questionnaire , our estimate was ±2000 people. By our count, we had over 6000 people last year. We are providing the city an estimate only. We do not have a crystal ball, we do not employ professional crowd estimators, and we cannot predict how the weather will affect attendance. Each year our event has grown, and each year we make a larger estimate. How did the police department reach their estimate? Was there a specific point that people were counted? Were total trips in and of the area counted? Were people who left and returned counted two times? Were people on their way to the Seattle Auto Swap Meet at the Monroe Fairgrounds counted? Our own estimate is 8200 people and 1800 motorcycles.
Approximately 1/3 of police calls related to event. If we accept the lower crowd estimate, then the city doubled for the day, but only 1/3 of police activities were related to the increase. Street barricades abandoned. Which locations and which times?
The only incident reported to our staff was about 3:15pm. Sgt. Upton called a staff member on his cell phone, and the problem was corrected in less than 10 minutes. We would like to know if a police officer can be placed at each barricade, similar to the Kla Ha Yah parade last year. Running past ending time. We apologize for being behind schedule. With the large crowd, some activities took longer than expected. Our policy is to reopen the streets as close as possible to the established reopening time. Live band not on application.
The band was on private property and in compliance with noise ordinances. There is no question on the application regarding live performances of any kind. There has been a band at the show every year for the previous 4 years, and there are photos of past bands on our website. The band was discussed at planning meetings where Sgt. Upton, the police liaison for our event, was present. The band was listed on all official flyers, except some of the flyers made by the Snohomish High School art students.
Reports of people "covertly taking photographs of officers".
This is a community event in public places where any individual has a First Amendment right to take photographs. The historic downtown setting and the many beautiful machines are here to be viewed and photographed. How covert is a camera hung around a photographer's neck? ABATE is paying for police services for the day, and as part of our event you are subject to being photographed or questioned by event staff and citizens regarding performance of duties. What secret is our police department afraid of being photographed?
"Instances of public safety are being compromised." Please provide specific details, as this statement is too general.
"It's unmanageable no matter how many officers there."
Anacortes handles much larger 1-day crowds for the Oyster Run each September. Sturgis, SD, handles over 500,000 people for a week each year in August. Laughlin, NV, Daytona Beach, FL, Hollister, CA, Laconia, NY, and countless other towns and cities across the country handle larger crowds. The department relies on outside departments to supply the staff for special events. Many outside police officers and departments have requested the privilege of working at the motorcycle show. The Bike Show Committee provides at least 30 event staff for security and crowd control.
Failed to "tell anyone in advance they were assembling a three-story bird's-eye platform for bike riders to perform on." Do you mean the electric scissor-lift from Hertz Rentals provided for a disabled staff photographer, or do you mean the three-level pyramid created by the Seattle Cossacks Motorcycle Stunt Drill Team? See the cover photos. [Editor: photos not included in press release, but handed to council.]
"They don't live up to their part of the deal?" Please clarify. We have complied with all staff requests noted in the Citizen's Advisory Board agenda, and we worked with Sgt. Upton on many issues at our planning sessions.
Motorcycles "left town" in an unsafe manner and pedestrians, mothers, etc, scattering. Have any citizens filed complaints? Were any traffic tickets issued to offenders? We are not responsible for the actions of individuals leaving town.
The Bike Show costs the city about $4300. Kla Ha Yah costs the city about $10,000. And the chief wants the bike show to leave? How are the city costs estimated?
Again, we look forward to working with the City departments and local citizens to provide a safe, enjoyable event next year without infringing on anyone's civil rights.
ABATE = American Bikers Aimed Towards Education |
