Despite concerns about chaos, Michael Jackson memorial runs smoothly

Despite worries about chaos and gridlock, the Michael Jackson public memorial went off without a hitch, with the Los Angeles Police Department saying it didn't make a single arrest.

The department deployed 3,200 officers today in its biggest deployment since the 1984 Olympics but they were hardly needed as fewer than 1,000 fans appeared on the streets outside the Staples Center area.

“We drove home the message that people were better off watching at home, there was nothing to see,” Chief William J. Bratton said. “It was all about good planning and good coordination.”

Bratton said the 3,200 officers were planned for because it is a lot easier to downsize when nothing occurs than call in additional officers when trouble breaks out.

Bratton said that as it became obvious that fans had stayed home, deployment was dropped to 1,000 officers. The crowds were small beyond Staples Center, where predictions of streets filled with fans had come in the days running up to the memorial.

“We had 1,000 to 600 people on the Staples Center perimeter,” Deputy Chief Sergio Diaz said. “We are very happy.”

Diaz said with no arrests and no significant incidents it was nothing short of a miracle for such a major event. The Los Angeles police removed a man with a guitar from the inner perimeter who was drunk, Cmdr. Andrew Smith said. Smith said the man resisted leaving the closed-off area.

Two police officers removed the man from the area. “When they sought to escort him he went limp and had to be dragged out of the area. We did not arrest him and he is now across the street behaving,” Smith said.

 A second man was also detained for trying to sell tickets but later let free by the police. The LAPD banned fans without tickets from a larger buffer zone around Staples that stretched for several blocks and police officials say that helped them in making the venue less attractive as a gathering place. The venue's giant screens were not actively playing the events inside.

-- Richard Winton and Andrew Blankstein

Comments

[mike1909]

there is no surprise - mj's fans are not crazy or anything they are decent and kind and great just like the man himself

[tij]

Thank you LAPD for good planning and thanks to the City of Angels for allowing to share this celebration of MJ's art and music. It was probably the last one for MJ and Los Angeles will be forever remembered for their good planning and good work.

[Renoda]

I;m so amazed the furneal went as good as it did. The
Jacksons are in my thiughts and prayers, and may Micheal rest in peace....

[Renoda]

I' m so glad the funeral went as good as it did. The Jacksons are in my thoughts and prayers and may Micheal rest in peace.

[Lynn]

They have done a great job with crowd control and safety during this ordeal. Los Angeles have a lot of famous citizens and the world wanted to participate in the coverage of this memorial service and the events leading up to it. Michael Jackson in passing has provided a stimulus package of his own to not only the city of Los Angeles, but airlines, hotels, and vendors, etc. So stop it with how much this is costing the city of Los Angeles. This unfortunate circumstance has generated a lot of revenue for this city at the peak of the tourist season. He was a famous citizen (which we have many) and the LAPD/LAFD was needed due to the international popularity of the Jackson family. This is their job and I do not think any member of the LAPD/LAFD ask who is paying for their over time when situations like these arise. No one asked who paid for the fireworks on the 4th of July when so many cities across the country cancelled their firework shows. Yes we are strapped for cash but if you think our police department is not going to have any unexpected events to cover that entail over time and extra man power you are not being realistic. Are we also keeping a track of the revenues that has been generated since June 25th when the international media and people from around the world made their way to Los Angeles? I do not think the city of Los Angeles and Hollywood is upset about the extra tourism this tragic event has generated this summer. Again the LAPD/LAFD did a great job today and the citizens showed the world that we also know how to conduct ourselves.

[Lynn]

They have done a great job with crowd control and safety during this ordeal. Los Angeles have a lot of famous citizens and the world wanted to participate in the coverage of this memorial service and the events leading up to it. Michael Jackson in passing has provided a stimulus package of his own to not only the city of Los Angeles, but airlines, hotels, and vendors, etc. So stop it with how much this is costing the city of Los Angeles. This unfortunate circumstance has generated a lot of revenue for this city at the peak of the tourist season. He was a famous citizen (which we have many) and the LAPD/LAFD was needed due to the international popularity of the Jackson family. This is their job and I do not think any member of the LAPD/LAFD ask who is paying for their over time when situations like these arise. No one asked who paid for the fireworks on the 4th of July when so many cities across the country cancelled their firework shows. Yes we are strapped for cash but if you think our police department is not going to have any unexpected events to cover that entail over time and extra man power you are not being realistic. Are we also keeping a track of the revenues that has been generated since June 25th when the international media and people from around the world made their way to Los Angeles? I do not think the city of Los Angeles and Hollywood is upset about the extra tourism this tragic event has generated this summer. The LAPD did a great job and the citizens showed the world we also know how to conduct ourselves. I am definately proud to be an Angelino today.

[Fred]

MJ is a notable person - but we should not pay a dime for his funeral. It is an outrage that this family, worth a billion dollars, can hold a huge party for 17000, give away tickets for free, and have us pay for it. I am outraged and it has greatly diminished my opinion of MJ.

[charles]

perhaps now all the people complaining that it was going to cost the city millions of dollars to police this event and griping that staples center and/or michael jackson's estate should pay the costs......now they can just be quiet about it? everyone complaining abouat the cost should consider for a minute how many hundreds of millions of dollars were generated for the city of los angeles over the last 40 years because of michael jackson. the guy was not just the king of pop, he was an economic engine - think about concert attendance, restaurant and bar partonage, album sales, airline, taxi cab, limo services, recording studios, record labels, movies, themeparks (disney and universal studios come to mind)...the list goes on and on.

[Fred]

Charles,
I strongly disagree - there is no implied or stated agreement that performers who make tons of money should additionally get millions from the city because they also brought in tax $. By your logic, we should do this for EVERY business that brings in huge tax $.

I am not even sure you are correct, we have probably spent more policing MJ's trials, etc than $ made IN LA specifically.

[KdB]

Despite the question regarding the financial cost of the memorial service I have to commend all LA departments in their professional and efficient handling of the event. LA should be proud with the way things were handled. Thank you!

[Jimmy Joe Johnson]

Financially strapped Los Angeles is on the hook for millions of dollars in security costs and only 1000 people showed up for this circus?

Ridiculous!

[Iris M. Gross]

I don't think Fred was that fond of MJ to start with, he's just making excuses to gripe. The sales tax alone from all the people who came in to town and bought and ate and slept somewhere should make up for any shortfall the city might have