Tulsa Police Ready For St. Paddy's Parties

Friday, March 16th 2007, 8:44 pm

By: News On 6

As many as 20,000 people are expected to hit downtown Tulsa to paint the town Green. With sections of downtown blocked off St. Patrick's Day parties are already underway. With nice weather this weekend, there will be a lot of people in downtown Tulsa, and News on 6 anchor Craig Day reports there will also be a lot of police downtown.

Whether they're Irish or not, St. Patrick's day weekend is an event many people look forward to. Downtown Tulsa is definitely one of the St Patrick's hot spots.

"I just love the festivities, and the people and the crowds and it's a lot of fun," said Tulsa resident Chuck Rooker.

Along with the great music, Irish stew and the beer, there will be plenty of police.

"We have a lot of pride in downtown and we want people to feel safe," said Corporal Dave Crow.

A special Justice Assistance Block Grant is paying or additional overtime for officers. Some will patrol in cars, others on foot.

"We're out here as overtime police officers just to make sure everyone gets along,â€ said Crow. â€œWe're out here to make sure everyone has a good time."

That's in addition to regular patrols that normally take place on weekends. Tulsa police hope that high visibility makes for a smooth weekend for St. Patrick's day fun.

While most officers will be easy to spot, there will also be some you may not notice. Most downtown pubs holding St. Patrickâ€™s day related events have hired off-duty officers to work security. Police hope it all adds up to safe and fun weekend, and a successful event for downtown.

"I've never felt uneasy walking downtown at night at Bricktown and we'd like to get that same type of message out here," said Crow.

"I live down here, I work down here. Arnie's bar has been a place I've hung out and it's a lot of fun,â€ said Rooker. â€œSt. Patty's day is good for the downtown area I think."
In addition to the patrols and extra police downtown, Tulsa officers will also driver around all over the city. They'll look for signs of people drinking and driving over the St. Patrickâ€™s Day weekend.