Las Vegas Sun

March 29, 2024

The Strip:

Police request public leave backpacks, bags and strollers at home during New Year’s Eve

2014 NYE: Strip Fireworks

Tom Donoghue / DonoghuePhotography.com

Fireworks above the Strip on Wednesday, Dec. 31, 2014, as seen from atop Trump International Tower in Las Vegas.

Revelers are often asked to leave behind their inhibitions (and their wallets) in Las Vegas, but this New Year’s Eve, people will be asked to leave behind their backpacks — as well as bulky bags and strollers that police say could conceal dangerous objects.

Sheriff Joe Lombardo asked partygoers to leave bulky items in their hotel rooms or at home when they head to the Strip or downtown to ring in the new year. “We can’t mandate it,” he said, but “we’re asking everybody to cooperate.”

After the terrorist attack in San Bernardino, Calif., officials in Las Vegas looked into adopting a formal restriction on strollers and the like, but the legal timeline to pass an ordinance was too tight for it to be in place on Dec. 31. Instead, casinos will inform guests of the request during check-in, electronic signs will be set up on roads and police will ask people who show up with discouraged items to take them away.

2014 NYE: Strip Fireworks

Fireworks above the Strip on Wednesday, Dec. 31, 2014, as seen from atop Trump International Tower in Las Vegas. Launch slideshow »

After a woman steered her car into pedestrians along the Strip this month, killing one and injuring nearly three dozen, and in the wake of attacks in Paris and San Bernardino, Las Vegas officials have been warily preparing for the estimated 320,000 people who will be in town to celebrate what Las Vegas Mayor Carolyn Goodman called “a grand time in the greatest city in the world.”

In addition to the bag request, Metro expects to assign 1,000 uniformed officers along Las Vegas Boulevard and 300 to 400 downtown. The department also plans to place covert officers in the crowd and stage DUI checkpoints throughout the region.

2014 NYE: Fremont Street Experience

Fremont Street Experience on Wednesday, Dec. 31, 2014, in downtown Las Vegas. Launch slideshow »

Traffic along Las Vegas Boulevard from Sahara Avenue to Mandalay Bay will be restricted, and on- and off-ramps to Interstate 15 will be closed. Escalators along the Strip also will be shut down.

Firefighters and members of the National Guard will be on duty. The Southern Nevada Counterterrorism Center, which coordinates first responders during an emergency, will be on high alert during New Year’s Eve.

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