SAN DIEGO — About 20,000 runners will step off Sunday in the 22nd Annual Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon.
Keeping an eye on them and the crowd of spectators is a small army of San Diego police officers, who say events like the marathon require a lot of planning to ensure that there’s proper security measures in place.
Last year's event was marred when Mona Williams pointed what turned out to be a pellet gun at a police officer during a traffic stop near the finish line. Williams ended up on the top of a downtown parking garage where she eventually threw the gun over the edge and surrendered.
The incident forced the marathon to re-route thousands of runners. Police say their special event planning worked that day.
“We were very, very satisfied with response last year that occurred. We were there quickly. Our goal is to isolate and make sure no one else is injured or that there’s no one else put in harm’s way and we accomplished that last year,” said Lt. Shawn Takeuchi with the San Diego Police Department.
Officers testified Williams wanted to harm herself. She later pleaded guilty to two felony charges and was released to a drug treatment program.
This year, police are urging the public to report anything unusual.
“We need community to be our eyes and ears. If you see something say something and let us know anything suspicious or out of [the] ordinary so we can investigate appropriately,” continued Lt. Takeuchi.
Every year the marathon creates out-of-the-ordinary traffic conditions, especially on congested downtown streets.
Runners must complete the marathon in less than seven hours, so expect road closures through late Sunday morning into the early afternoon.