Concert families enjoying a day in Pozo.....Call me gullible, but the day we met with the undercover officers, I felt compelled to believe that there was "intel" that something big was going down, and that was the reason for working the 4/20 concert. Shades of Colombian drug lords and greasy, skinny meth dealers came to mind. After all, if Pablo Escobars long lost distant cousin twice removed was going to be in the parking lot selling drugs out of his Escalade, I should be concerned. That, according to the undercover officers, dealing drugs was the name of the game for the 4 20 day in Pozo. And even though we voiced our opinion that this is not what concerts are about - anywhere - Santa Barbara Bowl, Hollywood Bowl, Mid State Fair, Chumash -they claimed to "know what we didn't ". Maybe we should have been tipped off by their appearance -"my I don't give a shit, don't work look" - the biker gang look (shaved heads, ZZ Top goatees) Not the group that frequents our concerts, hardly a look that would support one of their last statements, "You won't even know we are there."
So, contrary to their claiming that something out of the ordinary was going down that day, and that we wouldn't even know they were there, in retrospect - they were lying. In reality, this operation was to make arrests of concert goers, not to bust the big dealer(s) they claimed would be lurking about. An easy day for them, I suspect they thought, and well, I think 8 hours in a Wal Mart parking lot might yield the same or more. It is just a matter of targeting - picking the mark. Easy. You and I may have been as or more successful. 40 of us let loose 8 hours in any parking lot, anywhere, would get you some shoplifters, drunks in public, panhandlers, someone with a joint or two to sell, child abusers, grocery cart thieves, kids playing hooky, dogs locked in cars with the windows rolled up, someone dinging another car and not leaving a note, someone willing to sell you some Xanax for a six pack, someone hitting their wife, someone doing a line before spending their paycheck on Pringles and Diet Dr. Pepper. We could call in back up to get them to the nearest police station and call it a good day. Easy.
We were also the easy mark. We fell for the "intel" line, no threatening with lawyers or the need for a probable cause search warrant before accommodating undercover in the manner we did. We should have trusted our own instincts when we were first approached. Drugs are not sold at our concerts - we search and wand at the entrance. We do not allow ins or outs. Simple. If you think you are coming in with something to sell - you're not. If you think you are going to hang out in the parking lot and cause problems, it is fully staffed with security and you're not. Simple.
Instead we gave in to the ominous sound of "intel" and "we know what you don't". So, I apologize to our concert audience. We should have looked at 21 years of concerts with no problems. We should remember that is it Really About the Music and our patrons have been loyal and good participants in our concerts. No one goes to a concert to deal drugs, they are there for the music. It is about the music. No one goes to a concert to buy drugs, they are there for the music. We do our concerts well, we bring in top entertainers to the Central Coast and provide a safe, fun atmosphere. Families with small children, teenagers, grandmothers, fathers, lawyers, police officers, doctors, cab drivers, grocery clerks, students, in short all walks of life come to Pozo for the music. From Blues Traveler to Willie Nelson to the Black Crowes to Merle Haggard, something for everyone. And we are sorry that we subjected them to the crushing presence of such a display of power across the street from the music.
So, contrary to their claiming that something out of the ordinary was going down that day, and that we wouldn't even know they were there, in retrospect - they were lying. In reality, this operation was to make arrests of concert goers, not to bust the big dealer(s) they claimed would be lurking about. An easy day for them, I suspect they thought, and well, I think 8 hours in a Wal Mart parking lot might yield the same or more. It is just a matter of targeting - picking the mark. Easy. You and I may have been as or more successful. 40 of us let loose 8 hours in any parking lot, anywhere, would get you some shoplifters, drunks in public, panhandlers, someone with a joint or two to sell, child abusers, grocery cart thieves, kids playing hooky, dogs locked in cars with the windows rolled up, someone dinging another car and not leaving a note, someone willing to sell you some Xanax for a six pack, someone hitting their wife, someone doing a line before spending their paycheck on Pringles and Diet Dr. Pepper. We could call in back up to get them to the nearest police station and call it a good day. Easy.
We were also the easy mark. We fell for the "intel" line, no threatening with lawyers or the need for a probable cause search warrant before accommodating undercover in the manner we did. We should have trusted our own instincts when we were first approached. Drugs are not sold at our concerts - we search and wand at the entrance. We do not allow ins or outs. Simple. If you think you are coming in with something to sell - you're not. If you think you are going to hang out in the parking lot and cause problems, it is fully staffed with security and you're not. Simple.
Instead we gave in to the ominous sound of "intel" and "we know what you don't". So, I apologize to our concert audience. We should have looked at 21 years of concerts with no problems. We should remember that is it Really About the Music and our patrons have been loyal and good participants in our concerts. No one goes to a concert to deal drugs, they are there for the music. It is about the music. No one goes to a concert to buy drugs, they are there for the music. We do our concerts well, we bring in top entertainers to the Central Coast and provide a safe, fun atmosphere. Families with small children, teenagers, grandmothers, fathers, lawyers, police officers, doctors, cab drivers, grocery clerks, students, in short all walks of life come to Pozo for the music. From Blues Traveler to Willie Nelson to the Black Crowes to Merle Haggard, something for everyone. And we are sorry that we subjected them to the crushing presence of such a display of power across the street from the music.
No sweat Rhonda! Some of us in the crowd were locals who recognized the SLO County Sherrif dpt punks that we used to babysit! Some of us there told them while they were in Pozo labs were opperating in Creston and Cali Valley. Some of us have been coming to the Saloon for a very long time and no bullies that don't even ride are going to keep us away from the music! ;)
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