Police reviewing Oktoberfest, planning for next year

Chief happy overall, but dept.
has some things to hash out

La Crosse police will convene to discuss Oktoberfest today.

Police command staff will review the fest and how to approach the event next year during what has become an annual debriefing.

Police chief Ron Tischer said he thinks this year’s fest went very well and he was pleased to see that arrests, citations and trips to detox were all down from last year’s numbers. The very cool nights during the four day fest, says Tischer, may have played a part in that.

There are lingering concerns with the amount of mayhem that, again, engulfed the neighborhoods around the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse. Although, that was less of a problem this year, according to Tischer.

He believes greater police presence has a direct result on the amount of issues that occur in those neighborhoods. He says next year police will spend more resources keeping traffic moving smoothly on West Avenue near the campus.

Most of the complaints police received this year had something to do with the challenges of navigating that street while crowds obstructed traffic.