Bracing for chaotic weekend, Panama City Beach police have arrested 400 this spring break

Nathan Cobb, The News Herald
·3 min read

PANAMA CITY BEACH — The Beach Police continues to crack down on spring break crime leading up to a highly anticipated weekend.

In a news conference Tuesday, Chief J.R. Talamantez of the Panama City Beach Police Department announced his officers have arrested 378 adults and 19 juveniles so far this month for "a wide variety" of crimes, the majority of which are spring-break related.

Talamantez also noted his department is gearing up to tackle the upcoming weekend, a time that might bring a wave of chaos to Panama City Beach. It is the weekend that has been advertised for "take-over events" similar to Panamaniac in 2022.

Chief J.R. Talamantez of the Panama City Beach Police Department said his department continues to crack down on spring break related crime leading up to a highly anticipated weekend.
Chief J.R. Talamantez of the Panama City Beach Police Department said his department continues to crack down on spring break related crime leading up to a highly anticipated weekend.

"If people are still thinking about coming down here to do those type of things, just don't," Talamantez said. "Don't come down here and try that. It's not going to end up good for you. ... The message that we're trying to broadcast, we don't intend it to be threatening. We don't even intend it to be confrontational. We want it to be out front and as clear and understandable as possible.

"Do not come here thinking you're going to take over our roadways and our city without repercussion."

Preparing for the worst:Bay County law enforcement plans special event zones to limit spring break chaos

PC arrest update: Panama City PD arrests 60 over weekend as spring break crowds spread across Bay County

On March 26-27 of last year, more than 160 people were arrested throughout Bay County in connection to Panamaniac, an unsanctioned event that gained traction on social media and brought waves of unruly tourists to the Panama City Beach area.

Those arrested over the two days racked up almost 260 combined charges, of which more than 70 involved drugs, 60 involved guns and 15 involved alcohol.

"I think we said it very loud last year that we're not going to tolerate criminal activity in this town, especially to that extent," Talamantez said. "Come here to have fun, but if your idea of having fun is committing crimes, find some place else to go."

The majority of those arrested during Panamaniac were from Alabama and other surrounding areas within driving distance of Panama City Beach. Talamantez said Tuesday this also rings true for the almost 400 arrests made by his officers so far this month.

Local law enforcement officials have said flyers circling on the internet for similar events this weekend led them to set up special event zones throughout Bay County from Friday through Monday. These zones allow for enhanced penalties, including doubling traffic fines, enforcing occupancy limits on public or private properties and impounding vehicles for up to 72 hours.

Signs will be posted at the entrances and exits of these zones. There will be two in Panama City Beach, two in Panama City and one in unincorporated Bay County surrounding Panama City Beach.

"Our job and our mission is not to drive up arrest numbers. It is to show that we are a community, a municipality that lives by law and order," Talamantez said. "We take pride in our ability to keep a lot of people safe, and if we have to increase enforcement to do that, that's what we're going to do."

This article originally appeared on The News Herald: Panama City Beach Police continue to crack down on spring break crime