Average Year For Crimes At Watershed Festival

It was an year like any other for crime during the three-day Watershed Festival at the Gorge Amphitheater and campground over the weekend.

The Grant County Sheriff's Office reports there were a total of 58 separate crimes during Watershed ranging from property crimes and trespassing to disorderly conduct and assault.

"One of those incidents involved an assault on a police officer," says Grant County Sheriff's spokesperson Kyle Foreman. "It was a simple assault and the officer was not seriously injured."

Foreman says there were also several instances of rioting during the event.

"There were two incidents involving mob behavior that were recorded as riots where a group of people became fired up and began vandalizing property. Law enforcement was able to contain those incidents until the behavior quieted down and the people causing the disturbances disbursed."

One person died at the festival when they attempted to jump onto the tongue of a moving trailer, slipped, and were run over by a vehicle.

There were only two sexually-motivated crimes reported during this year's event, including one rape.

Foreman says there's been an increased police presence at the Gorge since a shooting there killed two and injured three in June, and that likely helped make the number of crimes at this year's Watershed event no greater than in previous years.

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