Editorial

For a while there, it seemed like the Fourth of July was never going

to be the same in Surf City. The combination of raucous crowds, alcohol

and police was becoming a mainstay of what once was a festive

Independence Day celebration with the biggest parade this side of the

Mississippi drawing 300,000 people to Main Street.

Thankfully, it appears those days are long gone and police and city

officials deserve all the credit for restoring this national holiday to

its proper, rightful place.

It was 1993 when the holiday careened off into a maelstrom of couch

burnings, rioting and swinging police batons. That was just the

beginning. The 40 people arrested in 1993 climbed to 257 arrests and 230

confiscated bikes one year later.

In 1994, there were more fireworks and couches ablaze and a show of

what some called brute force by police that resulted in several claims of

brutality, including one by a 17-year-old Edison High student who had her

jaw broken and another by a local man who claimed police fractured his

leg. Both claimed the injuries came from police batons.

In 1995, despite threats of a “blue flu” work stoppage by police,

authorities beefed up their presence. Still, they were unable to

completely control the partying crowds. Some 100 people were arrested and

the holiday was marred by more fires and the shooting death of a

21-year-old man.

Then in 1996, a strong police presence and a “zero-tolerance” policy

toward public drinking brought the ugliness to a grinding halt. And while

the police were criticized for jailing 549 people that year on drinking

in public charges, the message was indeed sent -- Huntington Beach will

no longer tolerate hooliganism.

So next time you’re enjoying the Fourth of July holiday and all that

it offers in Surf City, just remember that ensuring your peace and

tranquillity was a hard-fought battle.

And give some well-deserved thanks to the men in blue and the city of

Huntington Beach for making this a day we can all celebrate peacefully

again.