The police chief of Panama City, Florida, has declared that high school spring breakers are no longer welcome in the town after an especially trying time last week when there were several incidents involving weapons and arrests. Most of the violators, he said earlier, were from the Atlanta area.
Chief J.R. Talamantez (pictured) is thanking the well-behaved visitors while addressing those who came “with guns, bad intentions, and no respect for this city.” At one point last week in the middle of the celebrations, he issued a public appeal for the parents of spring breakers to “come and get your children,” while lamenting those who rent $300,000-$400,000 condos for their children and then leave them totally unsupervised.
“You thought you could blend in and get away with it,” he said addressing the troublemakers. “You were wrong. Our officers were ready, and many of you ended up in handcuffs. “(But) when the cuffs went on, the tough act disappeared. Our officers didn’t see hardened criminals. They saw scared kids crying in the interview room.”
Chief Talamantez did not say how his “no spring breakers” edict would be enforced but said he’ll be talking with city officials and the business community about the issue, saying it’s unfair to expect law enforcement to “shoulder the burden of an event that no longer aligns with the values or vision of this community. No plan will fix this overnight, but we have to start somewhere. And we have to start now.”
He closed his statement with a message directed to the “well-behaved” tourists who visit Panama City Beach, say they will always be welcome, while telling the troublemakers to “go somewhere else.”
