Though a final estimate won’t be available until Monday, it appears as if Gasparilla drew a record crowd yesterday afternoon in Tampa.
Surprisingly enough, despite the large crowd, there were no major incidents and the event went rather smoothly for the Tampa police. There were reportedly only 24 arrests and five citations.
This, compared to last year, is much better. A year ago there were 42 arrests, including three on felony charges. To show how much progress the event has shown, there were nearly 350 people arrested four years ago at the 2011 parade.
For more on this story, visit Elizabeth Behrman, Tampa Tribune.