A year after the surf riots, Huntington event ends on a mellow note

 

In contrast to the night of violence that marked the end of the U.S. Open of Surfing last summer, the nine-day competition at Huntington Beach drew to a close on a quiet and mellow note.

“It’s a better crowd and a better attitude,” Police Capt. Russell Reinhart said Sunday evening as he stood at the foot of the city pier.

The international competition ended with riotous conditions last year as beachgoers stormed through the city’s downtown, smashing shop windows, pelting police with litter and tipping portable toilets into the street. Police from neighboring cities had to be brought in to help quell the violence.

Organizers of the surf competition, downtown merchants and city leaders pledged that this year would be ...more