SAN DIEGO — CBS 8 is celebrating love out loud as we count down to the San Diego Pride Parade and Festival that starts in less than 48 hours.
This year, there are heightened security concerns after a string of drive-by pellet gun shootings in Hillcrest.
Crews were setting up for the biggest event in America's Finest City as at least 250,000 people are expected to attend San Diego’s Pride from all over the United States. San Diego Pride, a 501c3 Non-Profit Organization, expects more than 300,000 attendees as the festival has continued to grow every year.
However, with 250,000 people together in one spot, coupled with a history of celebrating Pride because the community consistently feels unsafe, security and safety are a top concern.
"It's been 50 years since that first march down the street. They went to the city office and asked for a permit. They were told, ‘That's never going to happen in San Diego.' And 50 years later, here we are," Jen LaBarbera, Interim Executive Director of San Diego Pride, smiled proudly and described the first Pride Parade in San Diego. "We know that our community is a targeted community and so we take every precaution, every measure that we can possibly take to ensure our attendees, our staff and our volunteers are as safe as possible," LaBarbera advised.
San Diego Pride has a team of exceptionally trained volunteers who will be ensuring San Diegans and visitors to our city are safe.
However, you can’t have an event of this size without local, state and federal law enforcement support. That, coupled with the recent pellet gun drive-by shooting means you should expect to see more law enforcement than ever at this year’s Pride.
"Black, Indigenous, people of color, disabled and LGBTQ people are at a higher risk of violence from police, which leads to a culture of distrust. We took measures in 2020 to ensure that we're bringing all the people to the table that wanted to come to the table," LaBarbera shared.
"Fittingly, this year, our new police chief Scott Wahl has decided that San Diego police will be marching out of uniform," LaBarbera smiled admitting this is the first time San Diego police will not wear their uniforms as they march in the parade.
But expect to see other law enforcement in uniform.
Lt. Dan Meyer with San Diego Police said that after the drive-by pellet gun incident in May near LGBTQ+ bars in Hillcrest, SDPD is increasing security technology at this year’s Pride Parade and Festival.
"We see a public safety need and we're reacting to that need to fill the gaps where we can with technology to be able to identify suspects and bring them to justice. That's why you saw the San Diego Police Department move to increase security in the Hillcrest area, by placing smart streetlights, 14 of them, in Hillcrest," Lt. Meyer said of Pride security.
"Our weapons and tactic team will be out there. You'll see some of our drones. And we'll have a footprint conducive to a safe environment,” Lt. Meyer shared.
"We'll bring our assets such as dump trunks, blocking vehicular traffic from making it along the parade route," Lt. Meyer adds.
Smart streetlights have been a controversial law enforcement tool across the City of San Diego. To combat this, Lt. Meyer says they're only used to keep San Diegans and our visitors to Pride, safer.
"Smart streetlights are utilized as an investigative tool, so when a crime occurs, we're utilizing the information within that camera to identify and apprehend a suspect," Lt. Meyer said of the smart streetlights and license plate readers.
Pride organizers say for years, Pride participants have policed their own community because of gaps in trust with law enforcement.
If you're coming out to Pride this year, San Diego Pride said to keep that same energy with the assistance of law enforcement.
Organizers also said, it'll be hot this weekend, so it’s important for everyone coming out to Pride to protect themselves in the heat by wearing sunblock and staying hydrated.
According to San Diego Pride, in 1999 Pride was targeted by a tear gas attack and then they washed their faces and restarted the parade in an act of defiance. In 2006, several attendees were severely beaten in a targeted assault.
Watch Related: San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria talks with CBS 8 about the LGBTQ+ community and his coming out story (Jul 19, 2024)