A week after a group was pepper sprayed, visitors call for increased security at Village Fest
It’s business as usual at VillageFest in Palm Springs tonight. Just last week, however, it was a frightening and chaotic scene. Last Thursday night, 33-year-old Dylon Cooke allegedly pepper sprayed a crowd, including two children, and stole a cell phone.
Cooke is still in custody being held on $100,000 bail. He is due back in court on Monday for a felony settlement conference.
Village Fest visitors are split on whether they feel there should be increased security measures at the street fair.
“Well it’s a little bit concerning, so probably should take a little more safety — the police and everything and the public need to be more aware what’s going on.,” said Ferdinando Nicoletti, a Cathedral City resident and Village Fest visitor.
Some shoppers are calling for increased security following the incident.
“There should be some eyes on the crowds and peoples body language would be able to tell if somebody’s gonna do something crazy,” said Nito Simms, a VillageFest visitor.
Police said it was an isolated incident, and more security than usual is not necessary.
“We have officers that are working the event every week – they are ready to ready to respond to any event that occurs,” said Sgt. Michael Casavan with Palm Springs Police Department.
Five officers are already dedicated to VillageFest, in addition to the regular downtown patrols and bike officers.
Business owners in the area said they feel secure. And some VillageFest visitors are undeterred.
“I’m actually still excited – I feel like it’s something that happens very rarely,” said Simms. “I feel like people from Palm Springs are tough like don’t worry about it.”
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