Authorities say Riverbend security more than sufficient [photos]

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Authorities say Riverbend security more than sufficient

Find a list of road closures at the bottom of this article.

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After months of preparation and planning, law enforcement officials in charge of protecting the thousands of people who will attend the Riverbend Festival this year are confident it's going to be smooth sailing.

On Thursday morning, Chattanooga police Lt. Austin Garrett stood on the corner of Chestnut Street and Aquarium Way, a swarm of activity behind him with workers putting up tents and stages, and said that layer upon layer of safety precautions had been put in place.

"You're as safe here as you are in your own home," he said.

Garrett has worked the annual music festival for 18 years and served as the lead officer since 2009. He said the traditional security measures of patrolling officers and bag checks will remain in place with a few additions.

For the first time, seven police cameras along the waterfront will be feeding information directly to the new police intelligence center, allowing officers to survey the crowd in real time.

"The target was to have them online for this festival," he said. "It gives us a very good advantage to see what's happening."

But before attendees even get to the waterfront, they'll have to pass bag checks conducted by festival volunteers, private security workers and officers in uniform. People also will pass by several physical barricades at every entrance, which will be put in place to protect the festival's perimeter.

"What you'll see here is water barricades, staggered, and in front of that, parked cars as an extra measure," Garrett said. "And you'll see us, everywhere you go."

Water barricades have been used to block entrances to Riverbend for two years, even before a string of terrorist attacks in Europe involving the use of cars and trucks to drive through crowds in London, Berlin and Nice, France.

He said the city and the police department began to use water barricades in the wake of events like the 2014 SXSW crash in Austin, Texas, in which a man drove a stolen car into a festival crowd, killing four people.

"We have a multi-tiered safety plan and security that consists of Chattanooga city police, the Hamilton County Sheriff's Office and then private security," said Amy Morrow, a spokeswoman for Friends of the Festival, a nonprofit that helps organize Riverbend.

"We've always been very confident - they've always had a plan that worked. It's going to be tight and focused as always, despite anything that's gone on around the world," she said.

Organizers expect the security plans will be more than sufficient to respond to any incident, but if the last few years are anything to judge by, the arrests will be minimal. In 2016, 17 arrests were made, compared with five in 2015, 23 in 2014 and seven in 2013, according to police.

Morrow said that track record underscores to the nature of the event itself and the people who attend.

"It has become the Tennessee Valley's family reunion. It's a family-friendly place," she said. "It speaks to the commitment, of course, that we have to that plan and to making sure it's executed and keeping the folks here safe."

"We want it to be safe and loving and a good time for everyone."

Notably, no incidents involving weapons were reported in 2016, nor were any weapons confiscated. Last year was the first time attendees were allowed to legally carry handguns into the event. In 2016, Gov. Bill Haslam signed into law the controversial guns-in-parks bill, which overrode city and county bans on permit holders bringing firearms into local parks, playgrounds and ballfields.

"Is that something we'd recommend? Not necessarily," Garrett said. "They'll be checked throughout the festival."

Permit holders are not allowed to drink while carrying weapons, and he said they likely will be stopped time and again by officers checking for permits.

But guns aren't alone on authorities' list of concerns in 2017.

"We're having a lot of issues with drones," Garrett said. "You will not be allowed to fly anywhere around this venue legally."

Drones cannot be flown into or over large, ticketed events such as the Riverbend Festival or football games without permission from the events' directors.

"This year, at this event, drones are off limits," said Detective Marty Dunn, a drone pilot for the Hamilton County Sheriff's Office.

Not only would the pilot potentially be sidestepping the entrance cost of the event, the drone could fall from several hundred feet and hurt someone, Dunn said.

"Nine pounds falling from 400 feet could be very detrimental to a person," he said.

Contact staff writer Emmett Gienapp at egienapp@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6731. Follow him on twitter @emmettgienapp.