As summer approaches, the Anchorage Police Department says it's reacting to many of the disturbances that regularly take place at the city's popular Town Square Park.
Located in the center of downtown Anchorage, the park is a spot that many tourists head through as they explore the city. But it has also had a history of violent disturbances, some taking place in the middle of the day, like the fight posted in this YouTube video (Warning: graphic language).
Just last week, police say a man sexually assaulted an 18-year-old woman in the park while both were high on synthetic marijuana.
"It's not what a tourist wants to see at all," said Keith Pidduck, a tourist from Ontario, Canada. "They're here for a vacation and to see the sights, and thats not the sights they want to see by any means."
APD says it's added two more officers on patrol in the area to better respond to disturbances, but visitors may not be able to notice all of the increased surveillance.
"When we're working down there, at least half of those officers are in plain clothes," said Sgt. Mark Rein with the Anchorage Police Department. "What happens is we take enforcement action with the plainclothes officers, and we call in the uniformed officers to take those people away."
According to APD, during afternoon and night shifts when a special patrol group is on duty, there are as many as seven police officers in the area of Town Square Park.
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