Friday, January 02, 2004
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

New Year's arrests rise sharply

Greater police presence on Strip, downtown because of terror concerns cited

Mounted Las Vegas police officers patrol the Strip in front of the Bellagio as other officers make arrests at a patrol unit early Thursday morning. No terrorists struck the New Year's party, but about 140 people were arrested for minor crimes, police said. SAMANTHA CLEMENS/REVIEW-JOURNAL A law enforcement officer is silhouetted against neon lights Wednesday night on Fremont Street. SAMANTHA CLEMENS/REVIEW-JOURNAL

Droves of extra law enforcement officers assigned to Las Vegas on New Year's Eve anticipated terrorist activity, but instead spent much of the night rounding up mischievous revelers for minor crimes.

About 140 partygoers were arrested on the Strip and downtown, more than six times last year's total of 23.

"It's not that people were rowdier than last year; we just had more police out there to catch them," Lt. Sean Donnelly of the Metropolitan Police Department said Thursday. "Security fears were minimal, and everything went well with no (terrorist) incidents at all."

Law enforcement was prepared for several scenarios and focused on the possibility that an aircraft might drop lethal chemicals on the Strip or that terrorists might steal an ambulance and pose as emergency crews to penetrate security.

One source, who asked to remain anonymous, said officials feared that an ambulance could be loaded with explosives or a dirty bomb. Dirty bombs are designed to release nuclear material that can contaminate a vast region, not start a nuclear explosion.

Sheriff Bill Young said law enforcement and emergency crews were required to not only wear their regular badge, but also a new identification badge with a picture. Ambulance companies were urged to closely monitor their inventory of vehicles.

"It's something we commonly discussed, that that was a way for them to penetrate us," Young said. "That's one thing we were concerned about." More than 2,500 police officers joined 5,000 hotel security guards to protect visitors who partied in Las Vegas despite the threat of a terrorist attack and the fact the government raised the terror alert level from yellow, or elevated, to orange, or high, on Dec. 21.

Off the Strip, at the SRO nightclub on Flamingo Road, a man was shot to death during a fight about 4 a.m., Donnelly said. A nonfatal stabbing was also reported behind the Aladdin. Donnelly had no further information on either incident.

An unidentified female police officer was hit and kicked in the face while trying to break up a fight across the street from Treasure Island. She was treated and released from a hospital, but the extent of her injuries was unknown Thursday.

As of 4 p.m. Thursday, police staffing returned to normal under the orange alert code, Donnelly said. And although most tourists plan to remain in Las Vegas through the weekend, the helicopter gunships that patrolled the Strip on New Year's Eve are no longer there.

The greatest threat of a terrorist attack in Las Vegas was considered to be on New Year's Eve, but Clark County Manager Thom Reilly said the county will remain at the second-highest alert level until the end of January.

"(The U.S. Homeland Security Department) put Las Vegas on the same parallel as Washington, D.C., New York City and Los Angeles," Reilly said. "They felt like if something was going to happen here, it would happen on New Year's Eve."

In Los Angeles, the federal government was most concerned about Thursday's Rose Bowl game, played in a stadium that can accommodate about 100,000 fans.

In response to concerns in Las Vegas, federal officials banned private aircraft from flying within a 23-mile radius of McCarran International Airport. Only commercial airliners and police, medical and military aircraft were permitted in the zone. The flight restrictions were lifted at 3 a.m. Thursday.

On Christmas Eve, government officials hastily canceled three Air France flights bound for Los Angeles from Paris. The Washington Post reported that terrorists might have intended to crash an Air France airliner into Las Vegas or Los Angeles.

Federal administrators directed other countries to place air marshals on flights coming into the United States. Those who declined to abide by the directive could have been denied permission to land.

Air marshals have been placed on both domestic and international flights arriving in Las Vegas or departing from McCarran, the source said. Additional National Guard soldiers assigned to McCarran are expected to continue patrolling the airport until 6 a.m. today.

When asked if he was relieved New Year's Eve ended without any terrorist activities, Young quickly answered: "To say the least."

Extra security and reports that Las Vegas was indeed a target didn't keep partyers from hitting the Strip to witness the famed $500,000 fireworks show. An estimated 270,000 revelers welcomed the new year on the Strip and in downtown Las Vegas.

Rob Powers, spokesman for the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, confirmed that Strip resorts received cancellations after The Washington Post story was published. But Powers said cancellations are typical, especially within the 48-hour window that hotels allow before they charge for canceled reservations.

He estimated that the occupancy at Strip hotels was about 99 percent on New Year's Eve.

"I think everyone was so sensitive that when any cancellations came in, they said, 'Ah ha!' " Powers said. "But it was nothing out of the ordinary."

The convention authority did not send out any special messages in an attempt to appease nervous tourists. Instead, it left it up to law enforcement to disseminate pertinent information.

"The message from law enforcement was that all the security measures were taken because it made sense, not because there was a specific threat," Powers said. "They were quick to get that message out there."

The cost to provide added security has yet to be tallied.