Bonnaroo weekend quiet locally
Reports of reckless drivers and an unusual sexual proposition were about the only incidents of note over the Bonnaroo weekend as lawmen maintained high visibility during the festival.
“There was still a tremendous amount of traffic coming through this year,” said Sheriff Jackie Matheny. “Our goal is to keep trouble down and we did that.”
A total of 24 tickets were issued by deputies over the Bonnaroo weekend, with one-third going to out-of-town motorists. Most tickets were written on Highway 70 and Highway 55, which were heavily patrolled in light of the increased Bonnaroo traffic. The tickets were mostly for speeding, although one out-of-stater was cited for simple possession of marijuana.
The number of tickets was about average for a Bonnaroo weekend as lawmen generally write just shy of 30 tickets during the festival. Two years ago, controversy surrounded the enforcement as over 20 out-of-town motorists were cited, bringing allegations of profiling by officers. The tickets were thrown out of court that year. Since that time, however, the tickets have been enforced with this year seeing the highest number of locals caught by the stepped-up Bonnaroo enforcement.
With the lower number of out-of-town citations, some wonder if festival-goers are taking alternate routes to Bonnaroo given some Bonnaroo Internet sites which warned motorist to use caution when passing through Warren County.
“One person I spoke with said he was told to watch his speed through Warren County,” Matheny said. “But, I kind of doubt folks are avoiding Warren County, especially given the amount of traffic which goes through here during Bonnaroo.”
As for this year, Matheny said there were reports of a seven-vehicle drag race on Highway 55 along with isolated reports of reckless drivers along the road. Also reported was a man who reportedly stuck a condom in the door of another man’s vehicle outside a convenience store on Highway 55 and then proceeded to proposition the man for sex. The proposition was turned down and the initiator was last seen heading toward Coffee County.
As for law enforcement at the Bonnaroo site in Manchester, Coffee County Sheriff Steve Graves counted one death, 76 arrests and hundreds of citations for drug possession and other misdemeanor offenses. Graves said Monday that arrests at the three-day festival more than doubled from 2004 and officers issued at least 300 citations, compared to 132 last year.
The cause of death for the 32-year-old man who died at the festival still remains under investigation. The initial autopsy report indicates some drug was in the man’s system, although his friends were adamant he didn’t take any drugs. A more thorough toxicology report should be back in about 10 weeks.