OMAHA, Neb. (KMTV) — On Saturday, MECA security and OPD broke up a fight among a large crowd. MECA shut the Gene Leahy Mall down to help give staff a chance to reset. Parkgoers appreciative of safe security measures.
- Video shows footage of the police presence at the scene Saturday night.
- Parkgoers like Danielle Braggs believe the Gene Leahy is a safe place thanks to a well staffed security team.
- "There seems to be people who are walking around either in uniform doing something in the park at all times and I feel like the responsiveness is pretty good.”
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
On Saturday night around 8:30 p.m., the Gene Leahy Mall shut down for 30 minutes. The Metropolitan Entertainment and Convention Authority (MECA) security and Omaha Police worked together to clear out a fight that started among a large crowd of juveniles. 3 News Now visited the park to hear from neighbors about how they feel when it comes to safety in a public park like this.
"I feel like it's pretty safe. I mean anything can happen anywhere at any time but overall, it's really safe down here. We feel comfortable,” said Miki Stanner.
"Overall, I feel like this is a very good place to bring your kids,” said Zachary Doldouras.
These parkgoers have no complaints when it comes to safety at The Riverfront.
But as the air starts to get warmer and more people start to gather, incidents like the one that happened Saturday night can happen if tensions build within a big crowd.
"But I feel like that's pretty common anywhere where people congregate there's always going to be - There's some disagreement. I don't necessarily think it impacts the overall safety of it especially since the park seems to be staffed really well,” said Danielle Braggs.
We spoke with MECA who says there was a lot of people at The Riverfront Saturday night in general.
Shutting down the park was to help give staff a chance to reset.
MECA says people continued to use much of the other parks that night as security worked to resolve the situation in Gene Leahy.
"There seems to be people who are walking around either in uniform doing something in the park at all times and I feel like the responsiveness is pretty good,” said Braggs.
MECA says they have a great relationship with Omaha Police who continue to work with them on park safety.
In this situation, Omaha Police did assist, but it was MECA’s call to shut it down.
While these parkgoers weren't here when this fight broke out, they say they're thankful for the security's promptness.
MECA says there is security present at all Riverfront parks 24/7 and that they have increased staffing during peak hours to ensure safety.
