Students and community members in San José have noticed a heightened police presence following a recent brawl in front of San Pedro Square in Downtown San José.
On Feb. 16, officers observed a large altercation in the area and attempted to intervene, according to a statement sent to The Spartan Daily from the San José Police Department (SJPD).
“When the officers approached to provide assistance, the suspects tried to leave,” SJPD media relations unit wrote. “When the officers tried to take that suspect into custody several other suspects attacked the officers. The officers requested additional assistance when another fight began to break out.”
Following the altercation officers sustained minor injuries and eight individuals were arrested.
The incident has raised concerns among students' destinations in the future, potentially altering perceptions of the area’s security and for those who frequented the area.
The increased police presence in the downtown area has led to heightened awareness among students, many who were previously unaware of any safety issues involved in the area.
Carolina Avina, a childhood and adolescent development student at SJSU, expressed her concerns about safety in the downtown area, especially at night, even with taking the necessary precautions.
“So, I don't know, it's sketchy, especially as a female, it's pretty worrisome. I mostly focus on staying with a group of friends at night.” Avina said.
Though SJPD emphasized that this disturbance was an isolated event, the increased police presence and subsequent arrests have drawn attention to campus and the community’s safety and security.
Andrew Pileggi, a radio-television-film student, had a more in-different view of the situation, seeing it as a routine occurrence in San José.
“I feel like San José has, especially downtown, always kind of been like that. There's always been, like people getting into fights downtown at the clubs and the bars,” Pileggi said.
He pointed out that law enforcement has always been present in the area.
“There's always like a shit ton of police cars like going up and down Santa Clara (Street) for whatever reason,” Pileggi said.
SJPD’s presence on and around campus is noticed by students, however, some students do not think it is any reason to worry.
“I live too like right across from campus, so, I mean, I just hear the sirens like that all the time,” Pileggi said.
Despite the recent occurrence, Pileggi does not believe that the event signals an increased risk to student’s safety.
“So, I don't think that like this one bar fight where a bunch of cops got called out is like anything to be really particularly worried about,” Pileggi said.
This has prompted further discussions about what this could mean for student’s campus safety and how they should respond in similar situations if they occur.
San José State University Police Department’s Lt. Rafael Alvarez said that they had no direct involvement in the incident but encouraged students to utilize their available resources should their safety or well-being be at risk.
“I don't think there's really any reason to think that your safety would be any more at risk just because something like that happened. Because that kind of thing happens like all the time.” said Pileggi.
While the SJPD confirmed that this disturbance was contained quickly, the impact on the sense of security felt by students has been notable.
“I think especially just with the stabbing that happened, it was a lot more because people got shot, ” said Pileggi.
