VIA LA TIMES
Huntington Beach spent $30,800 to repair damage caused by a disturbance following the U.S. Open of Surfing but will not have to reimburse neighboring police for their help, city officials said.
The city spent about $17,000 on Huntington Beach police overtime, and $6,100 went toward repairing a city vehicle following the incident, spokeswoman Laurie Frymire said.
Police Chief Ken Small previously said the city didn’t need to pay for assistance from 21 outside police agencies because of a mutual-aid agreement.
On July 28, an unruly group swept through downtown Huntington Beach after the surfing tournament and vandalized a city vehicle, toppled portable toilets, started fights and set fires. A window at the Easyrider bicycle shop was broken and a $500 bike was stolen.
The city spent $3,800 for special equipment used to clean up the waste from the portable toilets, Frymire said. About $3,300 covered additional labor costs related to the waste.
“You can’t just spray it away,” she said. “It needs to be contained.”
An additional $600 was spent to replace several stop signs that were removed, including the one used to break Easyrider’s window.
Frymire said the $30,800 came out of the city’s general fund.
Ten people were arrested on suspicion of disorderly conduct in connection with the disturbance, police said. One of those arrested was tracked down by police after he shared photos of some of the vandalism on his Facebook page.
Frymire said no discussions have been held with IMG, the event’s promoter, over the possibility of reimbursement, adding that IMG’s contract does not call for it to cover such expenses.
For all the photos go here:
http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-hb-rioting-costs-20130819,0,3396406.story
If you have a product or service that is a good fit for our surf community, we have opportunities for you to sponsor this blog! Download our media kit now!