Tulsa Police Work To Keep Outdoor Events Safe

Several outdoor events, like Sunday's outdoor concert in Las Vegas, will happen soon in the Tulsa area.

There are a few outdoor events right around the corner for Tulsans and police said they are doing everything they can to keep them safe and secure.

A shooting as unexpected and horrible as what happened in Las Vegas is hard to imagine, hard to predict and hard for police to prevent. 

"They could've had 200 officers or more at this event and it wouldn't have stopped what happened," said Tulsa Police Sgt. Chris Witt.

10/2/2017 Related Story: Las Vegas Mass Shooting Victims Identified

Witt helps to staff officers for big events held in the city.

Even with a lot of planning, it's difficult to prepare for anything similar to the Las Vegas mass shooting.

"It doesn't matter how aware you are of your surroundings among the people that you are with, you are not gonna see that 32nd floor," Witt said. "The only thing you could do is if you put counter snipers up ... and that is just not practical."

With the shooting happening from a window on the 32nd floor, Witt said, it makes it almost impossible for officers to stop the bullets from where they are stationed on the ground.

"You can't know where this is going to happen," Witt said. "If someone wanted to get on top of a building or in a room in a building like what happened in Las Vegas, then there is nothing really the police can do about that except respond to it as quickly as they did in Las Vegas."

Witt praised the way emergency crews responded to the mass shooting.

He said Tulsa officers take every precaution to try and make sure local outdoor events like Oktoberfest and the upcoming Veterans Parade are as safe as possible.

They block off streets.

Officers are placed inside and outside of the area, and they check nearby rooftops for anything or anyone that looks out of place.

Witt doesn't want people to be afraid to go to large events, but said they should be aware.

"People are obviously upset by it but you can't live in fear," Witt said.

Often when something like this happens, some people's first instincts are to grab a cell phone and take video, when they should be taking cover, Witt said.