DAYTON — Two-years-ago a gun went off during Dayton’s holiday festival. This year, Dayton police are ready with a security plan.
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News Center 7′s Mason Fletcher spoke with officers about how they plan to keep the community safe.
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Dayton police will be working overtime in Courthouse Square on Friday, with extra officers out in force.
“We will have a large number of foot patrols,” Major Christopher Malson with the Dayton Police Department said.
Authorities are expecting downtown to be packed on Friday.
“We learned from what happened two years ago. We’ve taken the steps we believe are best to ensure that it’s safe for everybody,” Malson said. “My family will be down here. I encourage everybody else’s family to come down.”
The incident in 2022 caused the event to be cancelled, and it was never rescheduled. Malson said violence at a big event is always a concern, and it’s one of many things they prepare for.
“Obviously, we have the concerns like the event that happened two years ago, but most of what we really deal with is lost children, medical issues, depending on the weather,” Malson said.
The department is also working to control traffic, with more people expected downtown than usual.
“What I would hope with drivers is patients, just calm down. Take your time. Everybody’s trying to get in and enjoy themselves. And then at the end, everybody’s trying to get home,” Malson said.
Malson added that officers will be everywhere Friday, so if you see anything out of the ordinary, tell an officer. By doing that, Malson said, you could save the whole event.
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