Visitors will return to the State Fair of Texas Friday, returning to an in-person event after the pandemic forced last year's fair to shift to a drive-thru. Gates open Friday at 10 a.m., but Dallas police, the fair's security team, and outside security company have been working since February to coordinate their plans.
"It's a lot of attention to detail, a lot of situations considered, and we feel really strongly we're prepared for just about anything," says Jeff Cotner, director of security for the State Fair of Texas.
This year, safety teams will be available to respond to some issues Dallas police had been handling, such as people who need directions, have lost purses or other possessions, or arguments that are not violent, which might include those between a vendor and customer.
Cotner compares the security teams to ushers.
"When you go to a concert, there's an usher there. They'll help guide you to your seat. They'll manage issues like somebody sitting in my seat, someone standing in my way. Where's the restroom? I lost my purse. How do I get to the lost and found?" he says.
He says that will then free police to respond to true emergencies.
"We can help with de-escalation," says Safety Team Coordinator Miguel Sarmiento. "But if two people are actually starting to fight, we're going to call police officers. They're going to put hands on them. We are not."
Sarmiento says police will also be walking through Fair Park this year instead of staying in towers anchored in one spot. He urges people who need help to find an officer or a safety team member instead of calling 911.
"If anything happens for the fair-goer, and they need police assistance, come to one of us. We'll definitely get to them a lot quicker," he says.
"I encourage them to come to us first or an officer on the premises before they dial 911 because what happens when you dial 911 is it gets routed through our communications center, then it goes to whichever division it is, then they have to find an officer who's available. That takes time, but if it's a real emergency, come to one of us, one of the officers, and we'll take care of it right then and there."
In a medical emergency, he says safety teams would call paramedics already stationed at Fair Park.
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