Sixteen people arrested after Puerto Rican Festival

Posted at: 07/23/2012 2:54 PM | Updated at: 07/23/2012 5:42 PM

Sixteen people were arrested after the Puerto Rican Festival on Sunday.

Rochester Police and the organizers of the festival spoke with the media Monday.

Partying in the streets after the festival is over has been a long standing problem. Both organizers and police agree it is frustrating.

Deputy Chief Mark Wood, Rochester Police, said, "We had a significant deployment on duty to make sure that we make the area as safe as possible and we're able to respond to whatever the situation may bring."

Orlando Ortiz, Puerto Rican Festival organizer, said, "The frustrating part is we have a year round planning for this and we have a very successful weekend and here i am Monday morning answering these questions about things that I have no control over."

Police say there was one arrest at the festival Sunday, but the rest were all part of the rowdiness afterwards.

Last year, Rochester Police arrested more than 20 people after the festival. Rochester Police tried a different approach this year ahead of the festival. They sent out mailings asking people to celebrate safely and they used Twitter and YouTube for public service announcements.

 

 

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