As tens of thousands pack Surf City for U.S. Open of Surfing, a wave of police there to greet themBy GREG MELLEN / STAFF WRITER
http://www.ocregister.com/articles/police-674717-rodriguez-sonier.htmlHUNTINGTON BEACH – Wilbur Sonier tips back his blue cup and begins chugging his drink.
“Sir, do you have alcohol in the cup?” Huntington Beach Police Lt. Kelly Rodriguez asks.
Sonier keeps chugging.
“Do you have alcohol in the cup?” Rodriguez asks again, now approaching.
The 51-year-old Sonier drains the last of his drink and says, “I did.”
Moments later, he’s in cuffs.
The interaction is all in a day’s work at the U.S. Open of Surfing, which is underway in Huntington Beach and continues through Sunday.
Rodriguez and her partner, Sgt. David Dereszynski, had just crossed from Pier Plaza to Main Street when they encountered Sonier. Arrests and citations for alcohol will be the most common violations the police will hand out in the coming days at the event that brings tens of thousands of revelers daily to the beach and downtown area. Estimated attendance for the first weekend was 92,000.
Last year, 285 arrests were made citywide during the event between July 26 and Aug. 3, along with 925 criminal and civil citations at the beach, U.S. Open venue and downtown, more than half of which were alcohol related, according Jennifer Marlatt of the Huntington Beach Police Department.
Even before 2013, when a melee broke out as people were leaving, the event has been “all hands on deck,” Dereszynski said. Through the decades, skirmishes and unrest at events such as the Open and Fourth of July Parade and Celebration have led police to zealously manage crowds.
Although Rodriguez wouldn’t disclose the number of police working the event, the Huntington Beach cops have a see-and-be-seen approach. Dozens of police patrol and are stationed at strategic points throughout the venue.
Police are on ATVs, on horseback and on foot. Independent security workers check coolers and backpacks of beach-goers. This year, the police also unveiled a hand-held “preliminary alcohol screening device” that they call a sniffer, which tests for alcohol in drinks.
Rodriguez, the police incident commander for the event, has worked with the HBPD and worked the Open for 20 years.
“Everybody does it every year,” she said of her fellow officers.
As of Tuesday morning, Rodriguez had worked 17 straight days, averaging 15-hour days as the event picked up steam, she said.
On a beautiful Tuesday afternoon, the smell of tanning lotion wafts on the sea breeze and the Open is a festival of sun, surf and selfies for most of the attendees. Overall, Rodriguez said the vibe has been overwhelmingly positive.
“Last year there was a lot of tension between different groups,” she said. “This year has been fantastic. There are some true fans here. Every year has its own personality.”
Officer Nate Phelps noted that most of the attendees were “very nice” and he noticed a lot of families
However, Rodriguez also knows it can all pivot on a dime. The hardest part of the job, she said, is the anxiety of always being prepared for the worst.
“It doesn’t take much to turn an event,” she said.
In 2013, the event had ended and crowds were hanging around two hours later when a fracas broke out and quickly escalated. Several portable toilets were overturned, stores were vandalized and it took police using pepper spray a couple of hours to restore order.
Eventually, 20 people were arrested, most after-the-fact from video and photo evidence.
Last year, the nine-day Open was scaled back, with live concerts discontinued and elimination of public skating. Vendors with booths giving away products were also reduced from about 100 to a dozen. The intent, organizers said, was to return to a fan-focused event, so bleachers were installed as well.
According to organizer IMG, attendance fell between 2013 and 2014 from 700,000 to 600,000.
On this Tuesday, Rodriguez and Dereszynski are making the rounds. On the pier, Rodriguez sees a brown bottle in her peripheral vision, which turns out to be Hawaiian Tropic lotion, not whiskey.
Kenny Galbraith, 27, is busking, playing bongo drums. He has several cards out that read “Smile You’re Beautiful,” with a link to his website along with CDs available for a “donation.”
Rodriguez tells him he needs a business license to sell products. Galbraith quickly puts away the CDs.
“I’m just out here to make people smile,” the musician from Huntington Beach said. “I’m always out here just to have a good time.”
After the police leave, Galbraith says he doesn’t mind interacting with police and that he treats them respectfully.
“The problems come when you disrespect them,” he said.
Sonier, the man suspected of openly drinking alcohol, learns that about an hour later.
Because of his failure to immediately comply, Sonier is arrested.
As Sonier is led to the police substation, he tells onlookers that he’s being arrested because he’s black.
“If I die in jail, make sure to put me on CNN,” he says.
When he arrives at the substation, it’s clear the Sonier is known to the police. A crumpled citation is pulled from one of his pockets. One policeman says he had several interactions with Sonier the day before.
A female police officer walks in and says, “Oh, Wilbur.”
“All these people are out there drinking, why did you arrest me?” Sonier asks.
“You’re the first person we saw,” Dereszynski says. “Believe me, we’ve been looking.”
After Sonier calms down, Rodriguez bends in close.
“We’ve been nothing but respectful to you,” she says, “and you’re trying to rile people.”
“I apologize,” Sonier says.
At the end of the day, for Rodriguez it’s all about keeping the peace
