Post by TheShadow on Oct 3, 2004 10:01:24 GMT -5
www.oaklandtribune.com
But most fans say stadium is safe despite highly publicized incidents
By Paul T. Rosynsky, STAFF WRITER
OAKLAND -- Depending on who you talk to, there are two Coliseums in Oakland.
One is where you'll find docile, laid-back Oakland A's fans who don't have to fear for their safety or worry that their families will be subjected to unruly behavior.
The other is where you're likely to encounter too many drunken and loutish fans -- mostly at Oakland Raiders games, but also at A's games -- spewing profanities or flashing their breasts to fellow revelers.
Regardless of which view is more accurate, the recent chair-throwing incident involving Texas Rangers players and A's fans, coupled with the obligatory camera shots of the Black Hole and constant reports of rowdiness and fighting at Raiders games, have resurrected questions about security at Oakland's major sports venue. "Sometimes Oakland just gets a bad rap," said Dari Blackwell, who has been taking her 11-year-old son to A's games since he was a baby. "Whenever you get a bunch of different backgrounds and throw them together, there is always potential for problems. But it happens everywhere, in every major league stadium."
Jim Snider, 61, of Castro Valley, agrees. "I haven't really had any problems at all. It's mostly isolated incidents," he said.
Maybe so, but the focus turned on safety again a couple weeks ago when Hayward Fire Battalion Chief Craig Bueno's relentless heckling sparked a confrontation with the Texas Rangers bullpen that spurred relief pitcher Frank Francisco to throw a chair into the stands, hitting Bueno's wife and breaking her nose.
That incident and last year's tossing of a cellphone at a Rangers outfielder have led some critics to question how effectively police and stadium security officers patrol the 60,000-seat facility.
For the most part, however, fans say they feel safe at A's and Raiders games, although the football team definitely draws a rougher crowd.
Stadium officials defend Coliseum security, pointing out that the publicized incidents are caused by a small percentage of unruly fans who spoil what is by and large a safe and friendly environment.
Although the number of arrests at the Coliseum have risen from 130 in 2002 to 184 last year, Oakland Police Lt. David Kozicki insisted the complex remains a safe spot to bring your family.
"Better than 99.9 percent of the people who go to the Coliseum do what they are supposed to do. They enjoy the game and don't get in trouble," said Kozicki, director of the department's Coliseum security force. "But it's the one bad apple that spoils the bunch."
The department has aggressively gone after revelers who violate what some might consider minor infractions, he said. People who smoke in the wrong place or get caught scalping tickets are usually removed from the complex property, Kozicki said.
In addition, he said, if police see someone extremely drunk they will jail that person for the night.
Security at Raiders games is shared by both the Oakland Police Department and the Alameda County Sheriff's Department, who together provide about 150 officers per game.
"We are very visible, everyone knows we are there, and people know that we are going to take action," said Capt. Rich Lucia of the Sheriff's Department.
Still, he acknowledged, it is hard to be everywhere, especially when 60,000 fans are packed in the stadium.
That's why people also need to police themselves, said Alameda County Supervisor Gail Steele, a member of the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum Authority.
"I have a lot of faith that the fans can do it themselves," Steele said. "It's just like a neighborhood alert. You see something wrong and you should report it."