Chief calls for more police at Abby Fest

By Kevin O’Brien

A flurry of fights at this year’s Abby Festival has prompted police chief Jason Bauer to call for a larger law enforcement presence at next year’s event.

“We’re not going to tolerate that again next year,” Bauer told the joint police commission at its monthly meeting on Monday night.

The chief said he is considering mandatory overtime for officers and requests for assistance from the sheriff’s departments in order to keep things under control during the three-day event.

Bauer said Colby-Abby police were fortunate to have three Clark County deputies present during the nighttime events at this year’s festival.

“If it weren’t for them, we’d have been in real trouble,” he said.

According to incident reports from the Colby-Abbotsford Police Department, a man was physically assaulted by two other men at the festival’s soccer tournament, and at least three fights were reported in the downtown area on the night of June 5.

Bauer said it was “absolute chaos” at some points on Saturday night.

When commissioner Mason Rachu asked about a possible cause for all of the fights, Bauer responded with one word: “alcohol.” He also said 95 percent of the people who attended the festival were well-behaved, but some were there to cause problems.

In the six-year history of the Abby Festival, this is the first time the police chief has publicly raised concerns about fights at the event. Since 2015, the festival has been held downtown, though in its first three years, it took place in September as a fall event.

Abbotsford Mayor Jim Weix, who attended Monday’s police commission meeting, said the city may have to consider relocating portions of the festival in future years. Instead of having the carnival midway downtown, he suggested moving it to the parking lot of the East Town Mall where there is more space.

“It’s getting too packed on Main Street,” he said. Weix said his main concern is what would happen if there were a fire or medical emergency and responders needed to access a downtown building with all of the rides and vehicles in the way.

The mayor said he and Ald. Roger Weideman are willing to start that conversation at the city council level.

Other business

_ The commission met in closed session to interview applicants for an available officer position. No action was taken in open session, but Bauer said a hiring recommendation will be made to the two city councils for their approval.

_ Colby resident Mike Kreciak again complained to the commission about his neighbors’ dogs being loose and “no action” being taken by the police department. He said there’s been “six violations this year alone” when the dogs have been off the owners’ premises without a leash.

_ Bauer said a recent drug investigation resulted in the execution of a search warrant in Abbotsford and the arrest of a drug dealer last Friday. He also reported that the K-9 was deployed four times in the past month, resulting in two arrests for drug possession.

_ The commission approved $19,892 in monthly expenditures.