Isla Vista Halloween celebrations relatively calm

ERIC LINDBERG
DAILY SOUND STAFF WRITER

Despite crowds of costumed revelers in excess of 30,000 during Friday and Saturday night, law enforcement officials said the storied Isla Vista Halloween celebration has thus far gone off without a hitch.
Officers made 129 arrests on Saturday night, coupled with about 90 arrests on Friday when crowds were slightly smaller, and have issued about 275 citations, mostly for alcohol-related offenses.

“Drunk in public was the number one cause for arrest,” County Sheriff’s Sgt. Erik Raney said, “as well as fighting in public and other relatively minor violations, the majority of which had alcohol as some component.”
More than 200 law enforcement officers flooded the streets on Friday and Saturday in anticipation of crowds twice as large as the usual Isla Vista population of 17,000.
“Friday night saw upwards of 20,000 people in the community of Isla Vista,” Sgt. Raney said, adding that an estimated 30,000 partygoers took to the streets on Saturday.
Most of the citations occurred for minors in possession of alcohol or open container violations, officials said. Sgt. Raney characterized the tone of the revelers as “relatively calm.”
“The law enforcement operations went smoothly … with no unanticipated events occurring,” he said. “There were no major incidents to report.”
“Things were way calmer than anyone expected,” County Fire Capt. Eli Iskow added.
Fire and medical personnel set up a health center at Embarcadero Hall, the base of operations for the law enforcement effort, to handle injured revelers.
“They would bring people into there and sort of triage them,” Capt. Iskow said. “They’d treat them if it was something minor or ship them off by ambulance.”
Sgt. Raney said officers brought in numerous partygoers for overdose or alcohol poisoning. Figures on how many had been injured or treated were not immediately available.
Last year, officers arrested 351 people and cited nearly 400 others, the majority of which came from out of town. Although the Halloween celebration won’t be over until Thursday, the number of arrests figures to be lower than last year, Capt. Iskow said.
Sgt. Raney said officers are expecting minimal activity tonight and tomorrow, with another “relatively busy night” on Wednesday.
“We’ll be back up in force for Halloween,” Sgt. Raney said.