Police Arrest 31 At Sunday's 49ers Home Opener At Levi's Stadium
SANTA CLARA (CBS SF) -- Santa Clara police arrested 31 people for mainly alcohol-related misdemeanors at the San Francisco 49ers' game Sunday at Levi's Stadium, down from the previous large event at the field, a police sergeant said Tuesday.
Police made fewer arrests during the 49ers-Chicago Bears NFL game than the 45 people arrested, also mostly for alcohol-fueled offenses, at a soccer match at Levi's that pitted Mexico's national team against Chile on Sept. 6, Lt. Kurt Clarke said.
"It was a good day" Sunday for a game attended by about 70,000 football fans, Clarke said.
"We could have been a lot busier," he said. "Thirty-one is not a lot. We want people to come and enjoy themselves, but we want fans to behave."
The arrests were mainly on suspicion of being drunk in public, a misdemeanor, while inside and outside of the stadium, Clarke said.
Officers have to arrest people whom they can see are "unable to take care of themselves or others" because of their level of intoxication, Clarke said.
Two other arrests were more serious, including one person on suspicion of DUI who backed their car into someone else's, then got out and assaulted the driver of the other car, according to Clarke.
Police also arrested a man on suspicion of assaulting a female in a domestic violence incident that is being reviewed by the Santa Clara County District Attorney's Office to determine if the man should be charged with a felony, police said.
Clarke said that Santa Clara police confer in advance with stadium representatives at Levi's Stadium to estimate how many police officers and staff will be needed based on the type of event there.
The 49ers' next game at Levi's is against the Philadelphia Eagles on Sept. 28 and then the Kansas City Chiefs on Oct. 5. The stadium will host four local high school football games on Oct. 10 and 11 and then the University of Oregon versus University of California at Berkeley college football contest on Oct. 24.
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