Thank you MCSO and Rural Metro.

No words can express my sincere gratitude for the hard work, diligence and expert police work during the Donald Trump rally that kept all of us safe.

I was extremely impressed that with just a few days’ notice, MCSO mobilized a huge team consisting of specially trained police officers from other cities and our own MCSO SWAT, horse patrol and canine units.

They put a helicopter in the sky over the park and a boat in our lake for added security. Even though I have known over the years MCSO’s unique ability to handle situations such as this one, to actually witness the planning and initiation of not only the safety aspect, which of course was paramount, but traffic as well, leaves me feeling even more fortunate that MCSO is responsible for the protection of Fountain Hills.

Our own Rural Metro Fire Department also mobilized their emergency services in that short amount of time, ready to care for the huge crowd that might need assistance during the extremely hot day. During the event, emergency services’ EMTs assisted several people who were overcome by the heat, aggravated by the delay of the event that saw temperatures rise into the 90s. Handing out cold water to the crowd that had come unprepared for the long event prevented more incidents of heat exhaustion. We are grateful that Rural Metro is a part of our town for both fire and emergency services.

On behalf of the town and the thousands of visitors who entered our town with the hope of a fun, enjoyable day, and left having fulfilled their expectations and exited safely, as Mayor of Fountain Hills I thank MCSO and Rural Metro for their extraordinary efforts on our behalf.