ELLY GRIMM
• Leader & Times
People all throughout the community will be celebrating the 4th of July holiday later this week, and with all the celebrations going on, the Liberal Police Department will be on hand to make sure everyone stays safe.
“As far as the enforcement goes, there won't really be any additional efforts on that. Typically, the enforcement of the fireworks ordinance and all of that falls under the Liberal Fire Department's purview,” Liberal Police Chief Chet Pinkston said. “We do respond to calls as they come in, but calls for fireworks complaints and other similar complaints will be toward the bottom of the call list because we will respond to the more urgent calls first. We will have some employees on call in case we need additional manpower for that night, and we do a lot of education on social media about what's in the fireworks ordinance and what we'll be doing for the holiday. We will also be doing some traffic control that night for the fireworks show after the Liberal Bee Jays game. Our expectations center a lot on legal compliance, and that means we expect people to follow the city's laws and ordinances, which are available on the City of Liberal Web site. As people also know, fireworks can be dangerous and pose a significant risk of injury or property damage if not handled properly, so always have a responsible adult supervise fireworks activities – children should never light any firework and only handle appropriate fireworks while being closely supervised by an adult. I'm sure the fire department has also said this, but also be sure to maintain a safe distance from fireworks after lighting them. Do not attempt to relight or handle malfunctioning fireworks, and only use fireworks in a clear, open area away from buildings, vehicles, and flammable materials. We do want the community to have a fun holiday, but we also want them to be safety-conscious so they can enjoy many more 4th of July holidays to come, because nothing ruins a holiday quicker than an unexpected injury.”
Pinkston added residents can expect to see Liberal police officers out on patrol this weekend.
“We know fireworks will be shot off throughout the entire community, and there probably won't be any area more focused on than any other. We're planning to have a concentrated focus on the entire community,” Pinkston said. “Be sure and have some courtesy for your neighbors and their families and pets, that way we won't have to respond to those calls, which means we won't have to write you a ticket. We've discovered if there's only one area of focus, the other areas are where everything seems to happen, and we don't want anyone to feel neglected. We want to be seen everywhere as much as possible.”
Like the Liberal Fire Department, Pinkston said he expects there will be multiple noise complaint calls surrounding the holiday.
“I know the fire chief recently said the most frequent complaint they get is about the excessive noise, and I would say it's about the same for the police department side of things. The calls we get are either about people being disturbed by all the noise, or their pets,” Pinkston said. “Sometimes it does get to the point where it's truly a disturbance, and then we have to respond and try and de-escalate the situation as best we can. The non-emergency line, if anyone does need to call us with a noise complaint, is (620) 626-0150, and that will reach Communications. I would again remind people, however, we do respond to calls by priority, so if we're dealing with a more emergency call when you call in a noise complaint, we might not be able to get to you right away. However, if you feel it's getting to a near-danger point, call 911, and that will get a quicker response. Every holiday is busier compared to a regular workday, so I can't really say if the 4th of July is better/worse/the same as, say, Christmas or New Year's, but with the increase in people gathering, there's always an increased chance of something happening. And with the 4th of July, there's also an increase in alcohol consumption, and coupled with fireworks, that can be a VERY unsafe combination. We do anticipate a few of those calls for this time around, and just because of the increase in people and all of that, we probably will get more calls overall for the holiday.”
Pinkston also cautioned against alcohol abuse for the holiday.
“We know we can't forbid people to drink alcohol if they're of legal age, but we do encourage people to be safe and responsible with all of that. There are a lot of clues, like the speed the driver's going, whether or not they're staying in their lane, how are they stopping, things like that,” Pinkston said. “If we notice those things, we will pull that driver over and also look at if they have bloodshot eyes and other physical signs. Everything rather snowballs, and those signs are pretty easy to look for. There are multiple taxi services available in town, and they're all fantastic to use, and I've heard some stories about how our officers have also occasionally gotten calls from people throughout the years asking for a ride home, and we are more than happy to help with that. The main thing is we want everyone to get home safe and sound without anything bad happening. We want people to have a safe and fun holiday weekend, and we hope to not hear about any major fires or injuries or disturbances. Enjoy the holiday and have fun with any friends/loved ones coming around, and just take a couple simple precautions to make sure everything ends well.”
Overall, Pinkston said, the LPD will be ready to respond to anything that comes up.
“We'll be out and about patrolling and we'll be ready to respond to any calls that come our way,” Pinkston said. “We want everyone to have a safe and happy holiday and we hope to not pay too many people a visit or write a bunch of tickets or anything like that, because that all does add up, and it can also stretch our resources pretty thin. If everyone just stays safe and takes a couple extra simple precautions, everything should be fine.”
