Two lost children, a severely intoxicated individual, a missing barricade. This was the scene at noon at the Savannah St. Patrick’s Day Command Center.
Savannah Police Department spokesperson Bianca Johnson met with media outside the Civic Center at 11:30 a.m. then guided reporters to an elevator that carried them down into a noisy lair.
In it was the agency representation from SPD, Savannah Fire, Chatham EMS, and Chatham County Sheriff’s Office, all of whom coordinated efforts to address the crowd amassed downtown for St. Patrick’s Day festivities.
“I’m going to fix that traffic problem,” one SPD officer yelled, before rushing out of the command center.
Credit: Richard Burkhart/Savannah Morning News
Credit: Richard Burkhart/Savannah Morning News
Most of the calls, said SPD Sgt. Jason Pagliaro were “people who drink too much, people out in the sun who haven’t had enough water or had too much alcohol. Other than that, it’s just been some traffic concerns.”
Affixed to the back wall in the command center were two TV’s, which displayed 15 different views of the parade. Law enforcement kept an eye on those screens to look for the “big picture,” said Pagliaro.
Sheriff John Wilcher opened the jail for the weekend for misdemeanors, but Pagliaro said there hasn’t been any yet.
Bengie Cowart, assistant director of Chatham EMS, had seven ambulances, all stocked with the requisite gear to treat the partygoers as the celebration continues.
“I’m hoping people will take it easy,” said Cowart, “but if not, we’ll be there to help take care of them.”
This article originally appeared on Savannah Morning News: SPD: No major action — only one drunk person — during Savannah St. Patrick's Day Parade
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