St. Petersburg police are amping up security for this weekend’s St. Pete Pride.
Chief Anthony Holloway says to expect to see an officer on every corner. He also said officers will be patrolling the Bay using their marine unit and will also have officers on ATVs.
Detectives will be scattered throughout the crowd. So will plain-clothes police officers, Holloway said.
“Everybody is out there, extra eyes and ears out there taking a look at suspicious things that we may miss,” he said.
St. Pete Pride organizers opted to move the parade into the downtown area this year from Grand Central.
On their website, they said the changes were made to make everyone safer, including better monitoring and inspecting of people who enter the event.
Organizers also said there will be more available parking in the new Downtown locations, as well as more room for everyone to walk around.
Holloway is also asking for people attending the parade to have their smartphones ready to text 411 with any suspicious activity.
“By sending a text back and forth, we have that open communication and people are now good at taking pictures so you can really raise your camera up and take a snapshot of someone without them knowing about it,” he said.
That information will be sent to police headquarters where it will be processed and sent back out to detectives on the ground, Holloway said.
ROAD CLOSURES:
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FRIDAY - FREE CONCERT
- 7PM - 10PM Free Concert at North Straub Park (No Road Closures)
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SATURDAY - PARADE DAY
- 2pm-10pm Event at North Straub Park
- 2pm - Restricted Access on 5th Ave. NE from Bayshore Dr. NE to Vinoy Place Condos
- 5:45PM - PARADE ROUTE CLOSES TO TRAFFIC (Bayshore Dr. NE from 5th AVE NE to Albert Whitted Park)
- 6 PM - TRANSGENDER MARCH (Albert Whitted Park, north on Bayshore Dr. NE to 5th Ave. N)
- 7PM-10 PM PRIDE PARADE *Bayshore Dr. NE from 5th AVE NE to Albert Whitted Park)
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SUNDAY- GRAND CENTRAL DISTRICT STREET FESTIVAL
- 9 am - 4pm Grand Central District St Festival
- 5AM-8PM Central Ave CLOSED from 22nd to 31st ST
