Isla Vista board seeks after-action review after Deltopia safety report cites 911 nonresponse, heavy policing at recovery sites

The Isla Vista Community Services District on May 20 voted to request a written after-action review and to convene a meeting with the Santa Barbara County Sheriffs Office, county public health/EMS, the county fire department and UC Santa Barbara after staff reported problems coordinating emergency response and law enforcement during the spring Deltopia festival.

The motion, made by Director Toplitz and seconded by Director Daschler, passed unanimously. The board asked staff to include the reported 911 nonresponse to on-site EMTs and the documented presence of officers writing citations at festival wellness tents and the recovery center in the outreach.

The request followed a presentation by a district staff member who ran the Deltopia safety operation. The staff member told the board the festival drew about 6,000 people and described a range of harm-reduction measures the district and partners provided, including two wellness checkpoints, two safety stations, a recovery center run in partnership with Good Samaritan, 24 portable restrooms placed across Isla Vista, distribution of drug-testing strips and Narcan, and temporary traffic controls.

"We distributed over 700 bagels" and distributed thousands of water cans, the staff member said while detailing the festivals logistics. The presentation reported: 100 people were served at the wellness…