A day after police responded to a Labor Day beach fight that whipped a crowd of several hundred into a frenzy on the sands of Pacific Beach, City Attorney Michael Aguirre and District 2 Councilmember Kevin Faulconer voiced their support for a beach-wide alcohol ban on city beaches. The two plan to meet this week to work on the ordinance, Faulconer said.
“The City Attorney’s Office is drafting an ordinance this week [and] we are going to be meeting later this week,” he said. “This is a very important public safety issue and so it’s my intent to move as quickly as we can.”
Once drafted, the ordinance would go through a public review process before coming before the full City Council, Faulconer said.
Jamie Fox-Rice, a representative from Faulconer’s office said the councilmember’s office has been inundated with hundreds of letters supporting Faulconer’s stance on the issue. A position he took as a result of the chaos that unfolded that Labor Day Monday, September 3, at the foot of Reed Street, he said.
That day, police responded to reports of fighting on the beach at about 5 p.m. When police arrived, they were assaulted with full beer cans, plastic bottles and other debris lobbed from the crowd, according to police.
The ensuing events resulted in the arrest of at least 15 people, six of which were under the age of 21, according to police reports.
The city has since then filed misdemeanor charges against three of the 15 arrested. The defendants were arraigned Thursday, Sept. 6, and released on their own recognizance, according to a statement released by the City Attorney’s Office.
All three defendants pled not guilty.
While the issue sparks heated debate on all sides, some Pacific Beach residents still remain critical of an outright ban and Faulconer’s subsequent position.
“[Faulconer] not only showed no leadership. He flip-flopped on a whim,” Jeremy Malecha, freepb.org board member and Pacific Beach resident wrote in an email. Malecha sat on the Beach Alcohol Task Force.
The task force was formed by Faulconer and met for several months throughout the year. The group outlined about 20 strategies designed to curb alcohol consumption on the beach and increase law enforcement in beach areas.
Freepb.org, which stands for Free Parks and Beaches, is a web-based group who promotes individual responsibility concerning alcohol consumption on the beach. The group is opposed to restrictive legislation, such as an alcohol ban, according to their website.
Malecha said the Labor Day incident is not representative of the whole of Pacific Beach residents.
Scott Chipman, however, a 33-year resident of Pacific Beach and alcohol subcommittee chair for Savepb.org called the Labor Day incident the “tip of the iceberg.”
“An alcohol-free beach is a safe beach,” he told reporters at the press conference Tuesday, September 4.
Chipman said people from all over the county come specifically to drink on the beach. When a crowd gets out of control, like on Labor Day, police cannot enforce the laws, he said.
To contact Faulconer’s office call (619) 236-6622, or write to the councilmember at 202 C Street, MS #10A, San Diego, CA 92101.