Heads up to those spending any part of their weekend in Tempe: Police are planning "heavy enforcement" of alcohol-related laws.
Police say this is a response to the death of 18-year-old Arizona State University student Naomi McClendon, who died last weekend after falling 10 stories from the balcony of an apartment complex near ASU's Tempe campus. According to police, McClendon had been at a party hosted by members of the Alpha Epsilon Pi fraternity earlier that night, although that fraternity that has not been recognized by ASU for some time now.
A Tempe PD spokesman says in a statement that McClendon's death is "a stark reminder of the dangers of underage alcohol consumption."
The fraternity, while still sanctioned at ASU, had gotten in trouble with the university several times for alcohol-related violations.
Police say the enforcement of underage drinking and DUI laws will be from University Drive to Broadway Road between Mill Avenue and McClintock Drive.
"Other local police agencies have committed police resources targeting youth alcohol and DUI enforcement," according to a police statement. "Officers will be monitoring known youth party locations as well as proactively targeting areas where underage alcohol consumption is high."
At the beginning of the fall 2013 semester at ASU, Tempe police had an alcohol task force out for three weekends doing similar enforcement, resulting in 1,367 arrests.
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