Police: Alcohol Citations Down for Tigerfest Weekend

Towson precinct Lt. Randy Guraleczka came in to work on Friday evening expecting trouble, following reports of a few rowdy afternoon parties.

What Guraleczka, the precinct's assistant commander, got was relative silence.

Thousands attended this year's show at on Friday, headlined by rapper Kid Cudi. The annual tradition has long been a source for community concerns over student misbehavior.

But Guraleczka said Monday that alcohol citations were down, and there were few major incidents to report.

"I have like 15 citations and I probably have a few more trickling in," he said. "I don't think it's going to be that high this year and it seemed to be not that busy."

During last year's Tigerfest weekend, police issued 42 citations for alcohol-related violations—largely for open container and underage drinking.

Residents across Towson also reported few incidents.

Among them, Aigburth Manor resident Paul Hartman said someone was knocking loudly on a neighbor's door early Saturday morning. In another incident early on Friday afternoon, someone was jumping over fences behind Aigburth Road homes and destroyed a bird feeder. Hartman said some residents reported incidents of public urination.

"It's not just Tigerfest," he said. "Those sorts of incidents have been happening this whole school year, so it seems to be increasing throughout our whole neighborhood."

However, Hartman notes that the offenders are a minority of students, and said residents already plan to meet with university representatives about the issues.

"It's just a matter of the neighbors asking people to respect the neighborhood, and they'll get respect back," Hartman said.

After 2010's concert resulted in more than 70 calls for service—including an altercation between students and police in Burkleigh Square that then-Councilman Vince Gardina described as a "fiasco"—the university implemented numerous changes to the event for 2011.

Those changes included moving it from a Saturday afternoon to Friday evening and from Burdick Field to Johnny Unitas Stadium. The university also doubled a grant to Baltimore County police for the weekend, which funded in nearby neighborhoods.

Guraleczka credited the university's support and the changes with contributing to the drop in incidents.

"Having us out in the neighborhoods is, I think, sending a message," he said.

Check out photos from the concert in The Towerlight.