How Fort Myers Police Orchestrate Safe Citywide Events

You see the lights and the marching bands. We see the map that keeps thousands moving, the radios that connect teams across blocks, and the plan that protects every family lining the curb. This week, we take you behind the scenes of how Fort Myers Police Department prepares for the Edison Festival of Light Parade and other major city events—turning complex logistics into a safe, unforgettable night downtown.

We walk through how early planning transforms uncertainty into action: estimating crowd size, testing route options, staging floats, and protecting pedestrian zones. Our conversation highlights the power of partnerships. From EMS on bikes and carts to Fire pre-positioned for quick response, from Public Works handling barricades to Traffic Engineering optimizing signals and detours, it’s a citywide effort calibrated for both parade-goers and everyday drivers who still need to get home, reach work, or access care. Regional agencies add muscle and insight, ensuring a unified approach for the biggest nights of the year.

We also detail the safety core: vehicle mitigation at entry points, medical lanes held open, layered road closures that keep the route clean and the city connected. Plans A, B, and C are more than paperwork; they’re the framework for adapting to weather, crowds, and surprises. Most importantly, we share practical guidance for residents and visitors—review closure maps, arrive early, stay patient, and use official updates. And yes, see something, say something remains essential. Your quick call can prevent a small issue from becoming a big problem.

If you’re heading to the Edison Parade, this is your briefing on what to expect and how to help the night run smoothly. Subscribe for more behind-the-scenes safety insights, share with a friend who’s attending, and leave a review to tell us what you want us to cover next.

Transcript

Setting The Stage: Big-Event Planning

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Welcome to FD Roll Call and Megan Flight Test Public Information Officer with the Fort Myers Police Department with the Edison Festival Light Parade coming up. Today we're focusing on how the Fort Myers Police Department planned and large-scale events. These are events that bring thousands of people into our Democrats. And while they're fun and exciting, they also take a lot of planning to make sure everyone stays safe. Joining me today is Captain Camacho, who helps lead planning and coordination for major events. Captain, thank you for being here. Pro call begins now. Most people only think about the parade day, but they don't know about what goes on behind the scenes before the parade even gets started or even becomes like a blip on someone's calendar. So walk me through the most important aspects when it comes to planning an event. And also we'll get into the Edison Parade as it comes up next month.

SPEAKER_02 1:05

Whether it's a parade or any other event within the city. As you know, there's so many events that we have in the city and so many re repeating, recurring events downtown as well. So we focus on how many people will be there, what the event actually is, what we need to make the event a success. Traffic is always a major part of these events. So how can we maintain traffic flow around the event as best as possible? And again, just have a safe, successful event.

SPEAKER_00 1:34

So when it comes to these annual events, when do you look at things that might need to be changed per year?

Multi-Department Collaboration

Partnering With Regional Agencies

SPEAKER_02 1:42

Usually if we know that it's an annual event, we try to plan as early as possible. So we work with all the organizers, and basically at the moment that the event is thought of or the planning stages within the organization starts, then that's when we also get involved. Typically, the city receives an application, as you know, but we get a lot of information for our yearly events even before that happens because we know that it's a recurring event. And so we do a lot of planning as far as where the event will be, are there any changes from previous year events and so on, and then we work for from there. A lot of departments within the city come together to make these events a success, not just the police department, but many other departments within the city, including the emergency management office, our parks, uh, public works, uh a lot goes into it. So you have sanitation, you have our traffic, there's a lot that goes into a lot of all of the events within the city.

SPEAKER_00 2:41

Yeah, a lot of collaboration, especially EMS, because last year, especially on Edison Parade, or even the MLK march, they were on golf carts or they were on bikes. So we partner with a lot of different agencies. What's that like?

SPEAKER_02 2:54

Yes, we work together. We start in the planning stages, like I said, and all of the other public safety assistants, so we do have EMS come in and assist in all of our big events and a lot of the smaller events as well, depending on the scope of that particular event. The fire department is also usually involved in many of the events, whether they're big or small. And then depending on the size of the event, we might have partner agencies assisting us, particularly for the Edison Festival of Lights. Uh, we have great assistance from Cape Coral Police Department, Florida Department of Law Enforcement, the Lee County Sheriff's Office helps every year as well, and other agencies, including also the Lee County Emergency Management, they assist us as well, and many other departments uh from near and far that that help us make that event a success.

SPEAKER_00 3:46

Without getting into specifics, what are some general safety considerations that you plan to keep in mind for the Edison Parade?

SPEAKER_02 3:54

Well, as you know, we always consider the possibility of large vehicles and or any vehicle coming into an event where we have a lot of pedestrian traffic, in particular for the Edison Festival of Lights and for and for the parades. We have a lot of road closures because the parade itself obviously is coming down some of our major roads. So we have to consider that we have to make those roads safe for parade goers and participants, for the floats, for everybody that's in the parade. And that requires a lot of road closures, a lot of planning when it comes to diverting traffic and so on and so forth. And it's a lot, a lot of behind the scenes things that have to take place. Correct.

Managing Closures And Traffic

SPEAKER_00 4:36

Okay, so no two vents are exactly the same, as we already know. What are some of the challenges that come with planning something of this size?

Adapting Plans In Real Time

SPEAKER_02 4:45

Really, it's just not so much a challenge, but you just have to keep in mind that it's all fluid. Anything can change at any moment, and you have to have a plan A and a plan B, and sometimes you have to have a plan C. It's good to be prepared for any possible issue, incident, but you also have to sometimes things come up that that maybe you didn't think of, and you just have to be able to be fluid and to make it work.

What Residents Should Expect

SPEAKER_00 5:08

These events are obviously a huge team effort, and we partner with so many different agencies, and I think it's a great example, obviously, of how our community and how our public safety partners can all just kind of come together for this to make it such an excess a success. So as we get closer to Edison Parade, what are some things that residents and visitors should expect from a public safety standpoint?

Final Reminders And Closing

SPEAKER_02 5:30

We usually put out a message with the city so that everyone is aware of a lot of our of the road closures that come into in effect when we have this particular event. But that is what impacts, I believe, any anyone not coming to the event the most, is that we have so many road closures in the area, in in the city, uh and downtown in particular, for both of the big parades that come with the Edison uh Festival of Lights, right? And so just be patient, know that we will have law enforcement personnel who are prepared and ready that are out there to keep everyone safe, whether you're coming to the event or not.

SPEAKER_00 6:07

And obviously if you see something, say something. Captain Camacho, thank you for taking the time to talk with us and give our listeners a better understanding of what goes into planning a major event like the Edison Parade. At the end of the day, the safety of our residents and visitors is always a top priority for the Fort Myers Police Department. Every plan, every partnership, and every detail is centered on making sure people can come downtown, enjoy the parade, and get home safely. We hope everyone has a great time at the Edison Festival of Light Parade. Please plan ahead, stay aware of your surroundings, and remember if you see something, say something. I'm Megan Fuentes, and this is FMPD Roll Call. Thanks for listening, and we'll see you next time.