Police Tell Disneyland of Policies

Under criticism over its slow response to the Christmas Eve accident that killed a tourist at Disneyland, Anaheim police met with park officials Saturday to stress that the department must take immediate control of major incidents at the park.

Police Chief Randall W. Gaston said in a statement that he and his top commanders also said that Disneyland must keep accident scenes undisturbed until police can investigate them.

After the Dec. 24 accident, which killed a Washington man and injured his wife and a Disneyland employee, detectives did not reach the site of the incident for 4 1/2 hours, long after the park’s workers had cleaned up blood and removed evidence from the area. That response has drawn criticism from other law enforcement agencies.

“Any major injury, fatal accident or crime scene [should] be immediately preserved and prompt notification be made to the Police Department,” Gaston said. “This Police Department will then manage the scene through the conclusion of the investigation.”

The Saturday meeting was held at the park and included a Disneyland manager and security chief as well as Gaston and other top police officials. Det. Capt. Roger Baker, who attended the conference, said Disneyland staffers were receptive to the department’s concerns.

“In a perfect world, this would not have occurred,” Baker said. “We don’t think we missed anything on this one, but it does help if we’re there from the outset.”

A coroner’s report said the accident occurred when a dockworker tried to tether the Columbia sailing ship to the dock while it was moving too fast. A metal cleat snapped off the boat and struck the Duvall, Wash., couple in the head. Luan Phi Dawson, 33, died from his injuries. His wife, Lieu Thuy Vuong, 43, and ride operator Christine Carpenter, 30, were seriously injured.

Disneyland officials could not be reached for comment Saturday. Park officials have said that cleanup crews acted quickly to keep other visitors from viewing the grisly scene.

Gaston stressed in his statement that Disney’s actions did not impede or hamper the police investigation.

“There has been no discovery of any intention or action to tamper with any of the items related to the incident that were collected and preserved by Disneyland personnel, nor to delay or obstruct the police investigation,” Gaston said.