The Isla Vista Community Services District debriefed the April 5 Deltopia and Spring Festival at their April 8 meeting, along with addressing concerns regarding over-policing at the festival.
IVCSD introduced a resolution honoring the service of TeSlaa as a lieutenant. Jack Dindia / Daily Nexus
Deltopia, the annual unsanctioned street festival held at the beginning of April, had an estimated 25,000 attendees this year, along with a much larger police presence. Police issued 485 citations, arrested 84 people and received 130 medical calls this year. IVCSD has held its Deltopia counterpart, the Spring Festival, for the past four years, serving as a safe space during Deltopia.
After three-year Isla Vista Foot Patrol (IVFP) Lieutenant Garrett TeSlaa received a promotion to Commander, and Joe Schmidt took over the position in March. Schmidt graduated from UC Santa Barbara in 2001 with a degree in sociology and joined the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office in 2005.
Schmidt has held a variety of assignments, according to TeSlaa, from patrolling Goleta and Isla Vista, being a part of the Special Enforcement Team (S.E.T.) and acting as the lead investigator of the 2014 Isla Vista shooting that resulted in seven deaths.
“To say I have a deep connection to this place is an understatement, and I’m really happy to be here,” Schmidt said.
During a public comment, Playa Life I.V. property manager Erin Doherty spoke on her alleged experience with police officers during Deltopia. She mentioned a specific instance where she asked officers to serve a search warrant to an individual who she reported was hosting illegal parties. When she called the police to serve the search warrant, they broke down the door of the wrong apartment, which housed three students on Del Playa Drive.
“What I witnessed this year and even over last year was this kind of wild west cowboy behavior amongst the law officers, where I’m curious if there was a quota mandate to do arrests or citations to cover costs or something,” Doherty said.
TeSlaa denied that officers broke down the wrong door and said he couldn’t share more information, as officers are actively investigating the incident.
Following Schmidt’s introduction, Isla Vista Community Services District (IVCSD) President Spencer Brandt introduced a resolution honoring the service of TeSlaa as a lieutenant.
“The Isla Vista Community Services District Board of Directors hereby expresses its gratitude and appreciation to Lieutenant Garrett TeSlaa for his exemplary service to the Isla Vista community and wishes him well in his new role as South County Commander for the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office,” Brandt said.
The resolution passed with six votes and one abstention from Board Director Jay Freeman. Freeman abstained from voting, saying he “wouldn’t feel comfortable voting yes.” Freeman said he doesn’t agree with many of the ordinances put into place, including those instated on Deltopia, specifically the removal of restorative justice during the event, which waives nonviolent misdemeanor citations from one’s record as long as they take a class and complete community service.
“I feel like you’ve gone forward directly with questions on the Restorative Justice Program and have made comments about how anyone who’s even remotely involved in parties is inherently hostile to police. I’m just not comfortable with this document,” Freeman said.
Brandt responded to Freeman’s disagreement with the resolution, saying that while the board doesn’t always agree with the law enforcement methods, it’s important to “honor and support the service of those that are trying to be good in the community.”
IVCSD Community Programs and Engagement Director Myah Mashhadialireza gave a debrief on the Spring Festival, which is meant to serve as a safe space during Deltopia.
The festival drew 6,000 attendees and served about 20,000 tacos from Roger’s Tacos, Maria’s Tacos, Elubia’s Kitchen and Zocalo. Mashhadialireza said a morning effort to deliver free Yetz’s Bagels was a success, with people chasing their delivery bike down the street.
Additionally, 30 people used the Isla Vista Community Center, fashioned as a “Recovery Center” in partnership with homeless aid agency Good Samaritan, for Deltopia weekend, to rest and charge their phones, with three needing emergency assistance, according to Mashhadialireza. Their wellness checkpoint served over 50 individuals, and a safety station provided health resources serving over 5,500 people, according to Mashhadialireza.
TeSlaa then gave his Deltopia debrief.
“Deltopia, the fact that it exists as a thing, I’ll never call it a success. But within [those] confines, it was a success,” TeSlaa said.
TeSlaa said the improved medical resources this year despite a rise in emergency calls, with their triage tent tripled in size and three on-site emergency room physicians. He said officers issued most citations for public intoxication, and there were no cliff incidents or overdoses this year.
“The vast majority of those arrests were for public intoxication, and they started at 9 a.m.,” TeSlaa said.
He also mentioned how most public intoxication arrests don’t end up going on people’s criminal records since most are referred to the district attorney’s Restorative Justice Program, which is not suspended, unlike the sheriff’s office program. TeSlaa says he “likes” this option since people can still get their offenses waived but have to go through the judicial process.
Brandt took issue with this process, highlighting that the Restorative Justice Program from the district attorney relies on volunteers.
“This program has had problems getting volunteers before and being able to meet the demand, and we just dumped the 485 citations on it. It doesn’t seem like a very strategic thing to do if our goal is for these to be diverted,” Brandt said.
A version of this article appeared on p. 5 of the Apr. 17, 2025 edition of the Daily Nexus.
