TULSA, Okla. — Thousands of people are expected to flock to downtown Tulsa this weekend, with many events drawing them in.
But safety and weather are top of mind, so 2 News Oklahoma checked in with police and Tulsa Tough organizers about their game plans.
There’s no way to be bored in Tulsa this weekend. There are so many different events drawing people from all over the world here — like Tulsa Tough, First Friday, Tulsa Drillers home games, the second weekend for “Wicked” at the Tulsa PAC, and live jazz music at Guthrie Green.
We asked Tulsa police Captain Richard Meulenberg if law enforcement is ready for the task at hand, specifically if all these events could spread forces too thin.
He responded: “No. So, we're prepared for this. … A lot of the individuals working for Tulsa Tough are actually not taking from another part of the city. They're working on overtime basis for that event.”
Safety downtown has been a hot discussion lately, especially since the deadly Blue Dome District shooting last month.
When asked if that shooting weighs on his mind heading into this busy weekend, he replied, “Yeah, safety always weighs my mind, but we have to consider the fact that these situations happen, but they're also isolated.”
Captain Meulenberg told us to expect more police in the downtown area this weekend.
“There'll be more patrols on here,” he said. “We're also going to leverage technology.”
As for what kind of technology, he added, “We have things like our camera system. We've got our real-time information center.”
The people at the real-time information center in city hall, Meulenberg explained, monitor cameras and license plate recognition systems and can access body cameras to see what's happening on the street.
They also work in conjunction with all TPD groupings, the police helicopter, and special events.
"Technology is a way to keep us all interconnected,” said Meulenberg. “It's relatively new for us to use this and leverage this to offset officers sometimes.”
There’s also the weather to look out for, with a wet weekend expected.
2 News asked Tulsa Tough riders if they’re up for Mother Nature adding a challenge.
“Obviously, there's always concern when there's rain in the forecast and the ground gets wet,” said Daniel Kalichman from Toronto, Canada. “But it's one of those things where it's outta your control, so you just gotta focus on the things you can control.”
When asked if he thinks he can handle whatever the Oklahoma weather throws at him, Lukas Löer from Cologne, Germany, replied, “Yeah, I will try to. If there’s a storm, then you just have to tuck a little bit deeper and then go arrow. And … if it's some tailwind, then it's okay.”
We reached out to Tulsa Tough organizers, and they told us they will “ride rain or shine, but will delay for lightning and extreme weather conditions” to make sure everybody’s safe out there.
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