Thousands show up for a wet Gasparilla

TAMPA - Mother Nature couldn't stop the Gasparilla Parade of Pirates from rolling through Tampa. Thousands of people weathered the rain through the streets of downtown. Nearly one hundred floats were part of this year’s celebration.

While many walked away with dozens of beads, others went home with a citation for drinking alcohol in public. As of 10 p.m. Saturday, 413 people had been arrested. Tampa police say the majority of the arrestes were alcohol related. It is all a part of the city's attempt to crack down on what some people are calling a tradition that's gone wild.

Tampa Police Sgt. P.J. Gray called for backup when he spotted about a hundred people drinking alcohol on the public right-of-way, a violation of the city ordinance. Within minutes, officers stormed the house party.

"In the past, people thought it was a free-for-all and they can drink in the streets and urinate and defecate where ever they wanted to. Well, the people in this area are sick and tired of it," said Asst. Police Chief Marc Hamlin.

This year, the city added more portable bathrooms and the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office patrolled the parade route, freeing up 50 additional officers in the neighborhoods. The idea is to crack down on public urination as well as excessive and underage drinking.

"We're in position to make a lot of arrests," Hamlin said shortly after the day's festivities got underway. "If we have to, we typically make 100 or 125. We're in position to make a lot more than that if we have to."

By late Saturday night, officers said they had only charged 7 people with underage drinking, believing that the low number of juvenile arrests could be attributed to the city of Tampa's extensive high school campaign about the new zero-tolerance policy at the event.