DPS balks at complaints about Guadalupe River patrols

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SAN ANTONIO — River outfitters upset with beefed-up state police presence on the Guadalupe River have asked county officials to reduce the amount police on the popular River Road in New Braunfels because it discourages customers.

However, the Texas Department of Public Safety said “public safety is the priority” and will continue to patrol areas on “a case-by-case basis”, said Sgt. Jason Reyes of the DPS' San Antonio office.

At least two River Road outfitters complained to the Comal County Commissioners Court on Thursday, calling the DPS presence on the two-lane road that follows the Guadalupe and is lined with campgrounds “overkill” on Memorial Day Weekend, which typically is the unofficial start of tubing season.

“We were inundated by state police,” said Paul Rich of Mountain Breeze Campground, according to the New Braunfels Herald-Zeitung. “Obviously, it was a bad thing. It scared a lot of people away. It was overkill on state police.”

Reyes declined to provide the number of troopers who patrolled the area during Memorial Day Weekend, but said the troopers were spread throughout Comal County, not just on the Guadalupe River.

“I would think that with our presence being out there it would encourage individuals to feel safe,” Reyes said.
Reyes said the agency also has heard compliments and that the DPS will continue to make public safety a priority.

“It makes sense for us to put out extra patrols” during high traffic weekends, said Reyes. “We brought in additional units from surrounding counties and made 19 DWI arrests, a couple of drug arrests and served two warrants.”
Each of the two river outfitters who complained to county commissioners, including Rich and Johnnie Bezdek of Bezdek's Rentals, did not immediately return calls for comment.

Comal County Sheriff Bob Holder and Comal County Judge Sherman Krause did not immediately return calls for comment.

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