PARK CITY, Utah (ABC4) – For 10 days in January, Park City is packed full of people here for the Sundance Film Festival. It’s a big job for Park City Police in charge of protecting everyone now in town. They showed ABC4 how they make it happen in this edition of Behind the Badge.
Park City Police Officer Clayton Eves said Sundance is a huge deal for the department. Not just because the stars of Hollywood – such as “The Last of Us” star Pedro Pascal and Iron Man himself Robert Downey Jr. – come to town but because Sundance brings extra traffic and a need for more patrols and heightened security.
“It’s a huge network of everyone putting their hand in to help lift the whole event up,” said Eves.
Every officer in the department is working the festival, and getting help from scores more throughout the state.
During the festival, Park City Police pull an extra 120 officers from 20 different agencies through Utah. They all work around the clock to protect all the events and the thousands of people who flock into town.
Park City Mayor Nann Worel told ABC4 that the city’s population balloons by more than 900% during the 10-day festival.
“We’re a town of about 8,500 full-time residents and we swell to about 80,000 people during Sundance,” said Worel. “So it truly is a huge effort in order to make sure that everybody that’s here is safe, our residents and visitors alike.”
Police make sure everyone gets where they need to go, and officers stay ahead of any protests or threats the festival may encounter.
“We get to hear what’s going on, long before we see what’s going on,” said Eves.
Park City Special Events Manager Jenny Diersen said police security planning for Sundance is nearly 12 months in the making.
“It really is a year-round process for us. Just as Sundance ends in February or the end of January, we start planning for the next year,” said Diersen.
With the hottest names in Hollywood all here, the pressure is high to get the job right, but it’s got big perks too. Officers like Eves have rubbed elbows with some pretty famous people.
Eves said he has met celebrities such as Kate Winslet and Kevin Costner, who he said was fantastic to meet.
“[Costner] actually sat down and spent 30 minutes chit-chatting with us,” said Eves. “Just dropped what he was doing.”
With the perks, it can be a rewarding job. But despite the big crowds and a worldwide audience, Eves said when the department does its job right, you’ll never hear about them being part of the Sundance scene. Instead, the focus can stay on the films and the stars in them.
“Stay out of the news,” said Eves. “That’s a good goal.”
One thing you may not think about is police are still patrolling the rest of the city. Just because the festival is here, doesn’t mean that all stops. Police are all pulling extra shifts so they do everything they need for the festival, and still respond to calls for help.
