INDIANAPOLIS --- All-Star weekend is in full swing and that means police are upping patrols amid large crowds.
Thousands of basketball fans have already been in full force excited for festivities.
“We’ve got all the celebrities in town. We’ve got the retired vets in town,” said Vincent Coleman who was on Saturday with his son Jaxon enjoying the festivities.
Indianapolis was predicted to see upward of 125,000 visitors alone, which is why police say they’ve been preparing for the big weekend for more than a year.
“Our special operations team has developed extensive plans that include traffic, public safety, responding to any potential disturbances. We’ve got a number of assets that are available to us, mounted units, bicycle units, aviation.” said IMPD Public Information Officer Lieutenant Shane Foley. ”We’re working with our state and federal partners and we’re thankful that so far the weekend has gone off really well.”
Significantly larger crowds mean safety is always a big concern.
“We’re aware of the incident that happened in Kansas City and the tragedy that that was, here in Indianapolis we’ve prepared, we’ve done everything we can to mitigate any potential issues that might take place and prepared to respond if something does happen,” explained Foley.
Although some folks WRTV talked to say safety is top of mind for them, they say they haven’t run into concerns so far.
“Just everybody having a good time and the vibe down here it’s just good to see in Indianapolis,” said the Brandes family.
“It looks really safe out here. We’ve got the police presence out here people out here walking freely, it’s really good,” added Coleman.
So far police say everything for the most part has gone well during the weekend, and they haven’t run into any major concerns.
They are urging everyone to be aware of their surroundings, be patient and check for road closures before heading downtown.
