Fewer arrests reported at this year’s Foxfield

By Jeremy Borden

Published: April 27, 2008

The huge law enforcement presence at The Foxfield Races, which benefited Ronald McDonald House Charities of Charlottesville, yielded fewer arrests Saturday than in past years, in part due to a late storm, police said Saturday.
Albemarle County Police Lt. Todd Hopwood said there were 56 people charged with offenses, compared with 85 last year. This year’s numbers include those who were hauled off by van to jail — mostly for public intoxication or disorderly charges — and those who were given written summonses and released, Hopwood said.
Special Agent D. Kekic, with the Virginia Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control, said he had written up six people for underage drinking and other charges by about 2:30 p.m.
“It’s normal Foxfields,” he said. “Most kids are polite. Some of them aren’t.”
Hopwood said private security officers had confiscated a lot of alcohol. Many tailgaters weren’t aware that all alcohol had to be held in specific-sized coolers to be allowed in.
“Don’t complain to us,” Hopwood said, explaining that police were not responsible for Foxfield’s rules.
Officials said earlier that the Albemarle Police Department would have 81 security personnel at Foxfield, including 49 officers. In addition, the Virginia Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control had 31 agents; the Virginia State Police 29 troopers; the Albemarle Sheriff’s Office 17 deputies; and UVa police three bicycle officers, along with the private security firm RMC’s 110 employees.
Denise Lunsford, Albemarle’s commonwealth’s attorney, told University of Virginia students that she was the one who gets to “stomp on your buzz” in case of an arrest. She has said that she doesn’t intend to cut UVa students a break.
Race director W. Patrick Butterfield noted that more than 2,500 tickets had been counterfeited last year, and officials were dealing with a similar situation Saturday, as some visitors had fake passes. Butterfield wasn’t sure exactly how many there were. Other than that, he said, everything was going well.
Police set up a booking station at the edge of the race complex, complete with video link-up with a magistrate. The arresting police officer would testify live to the magistrate. After the testimony, many were sent to jail. Hopwood did not know specifically Saturday how many were taken to jail. A Albemarle-Charlottesville Regional Jail official said there “weren’t nearly as many as normal” but didn’t have an estimate.
Hopwood said the rain played a large part in the lower number of arrests.
“We usually have a lot of problems at the end of the event,” Hopwood said. “It was a torrential downpour … it really cut things short. It’s good for us.”