Opposing views: Were San Jose police excessive with their force in the handling of Mardi Gras?

No

By: Kyle Hansen

Posted: 3/1/07

Mardi Gras celebrations in San Jose started out innocently enough, with just a block party nine years ago, according to the San Jose Mercury News. Over the years, the party has grown out of control, with fights, vandalism and outright mayhem.

People do not want to live in an area that is full of drunken mobs roaming the streets and fighting in parking garages, even if it is only one or two nights a year.

Businesses do not want to operate in a downtown where windows are routinely smashed and cars are vandalized, even if it is Fat Tuesday.

Students do not want to go to classes in a place where they have to worry about getting stabbed while walking to their apartments.

If the police have to be out in riot gear, so be it. It is a small price to pay.

There has been much criticism of the San Jose Police Department for its actions during Mardi Gras last week. But the police were just out doing exactly what we, the people, pay them to do: enforce laws our representatives designed to keep us safe.

Encouraging people to go to their cars and leave the area once the bars are closed is one way to keep people safe. There is no reason to let them wander the streets looking for trouble.

The police should be enforcing drunk-driving laws. Too many innocent people die because someone else decided to get behind the wheel after having a few drinks.

Stopping needless violence and gang fights is a good thing.

Arresting people involved in vandalizing and destroying property is what the police ought to do. There is no reason to look the other way while a statue at a cathedral is beheaded, as happened during a previous Mardi Gras celebration.

I am proud to live in San Jose, which is the safest large city in the country, according to the Morgan Quinto Press' annual analysis of FBI data, but it sure does not feel like it on Fat Tuesday.

Mardi Gras is one of only two days of the year that I do not feel safe being downtown. The other is Cinco de Mayo.

It is vitally important that the city keep its status as a safe and friendly place to live, work and play. Almost anything within reason that the police department needs to do to keep people safe and to protect property downtown is acceptable.

Instead of pointing fingers and calling the police officers names, we should thank them and praise their efforts. These are some of the finest men and women in the city.

Police officers are sometimes called upon to risk their lives so that you and I do not have to worry about what is lurking in the alley as we walk by. We should not be criticizing their actions when all they are trying to do is keep drunken mobs from hurting innocent people's property.

I do not have any problem with appropriate celebrations. San Jose's America Festival on the Fourth of July is an excellent example of how the city can have a safe and fun party. There are bands and games along with a great fireworks show, all in a secure and family-friendly environment.

I realize Mardi Gras is not, and never has been, a family-oriented holiday. Smashing windows, passing out in the street and getting in fistfights are not, however, acceptable on any day in any city, especially not in safe San Jose.

Thank you to the men and women of SJPD for keeping us safe and keeping holiday celebrations under control.

Kyle Hansen is a Spartan Daily staff writer.