UGA celebration in Athens leaves a big mess to clean up, local business owner says

ATHENS, Ga. — Athens-Clarke County Police estimated that more than 15,000 fans packed downtown Athens on Monday to celebrate the Georgia Bulldogs championship win.

On Tuesday, Channel 2′s Audrey Washington spoke with Deputy Chief Keith Kelley with the Athens-Clarke County Police Department.

Kelley said about 70 police officers patrolled the crowds.

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“We watched the crowd closely and we had officers in and out of the crowd. We maintained a good perimeter around the crowd and as we saw issues that needed to be addressed, our officers were able to do so safely,” said Kelley.

“I think it’s very important for the police to be here because it makes us feel like we’re in a safer environment,” UGA student Janiaya Loud explained.

Meanwhile, clean-up crews were hard at work on Tuesday.

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They cleared out bags of trash the crowds left behind on Monday night.

Kyle Bishop owns a local bar and he said the clean-up will take all day and night.

“Littered with trash, they pulled down trees, trash cans, cones, (it’s) a big mess to clean up,” Bishop said.

Next, police will work on their safety plan for the championship parade on Saturday.

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