1993 Cowboys Parade a Disaster

DALLAS - One thing is for sure. The people planning the Mavericks victory parade don’t want a repeat of what happened during the Dallas Cowboys parade.

The 1993 Cowboys Super Bowl parade quickly went from triumphant celebration to one of the worst memories in Dallas’ history.

There were signs of trouble early on. A mob of young people nearly overturned a DART bus.

Tons of confetti rained down on Commerce Street and the first floats in the parade got through. But soon afterward the massive crowd, estimated later at 400,000 people, literally swallowed up the cars carrying the players.

Some bailed out and had to plow through adoring fans on foot. A car carrying one player was set on fire as police lost control.

Too few cops and not enough planning were a disastrous combination. And when the celebration ended roving gangs of young people started attacking people at random, from City Hall to the West End.

Among those attacked were TV news photographers, including one who suffered a serious head injury.

“It was a frenzy. It would happen and then the cops would come in and the next person would go by and it would happen again,” said FOX 4 editor Bill Sutton.

Sutton, who was a photographer for Channel 11 at the time, teamed up with Channel 4 photographer Max Stacy in an effort to protect each other. In one instance their actions may have saved a life. They stepped over a fallen man and stayed there until help arrived.

“When he went down and the six guys jumped on him and started kicking his head, my thought was I got to at least step over him and protect his head,” Sutton said.

By the time tactical teams were called in to the parade route dozens of people had been injured. Fourteen people were arrested, most of them teenagers.

For the Mavericks parade Dallas Police Chief David Brown has personally laid out the security plan, from the uniformed and undercover police ground presence to the surveillance cameras, watch towers and helicopter overhead to keep watch.

Bomb squad and terrorism task force agents will sweep the area. And nearly 22,000 feet of barricades should keep the crowds at a safe distance from the floats.

Chief Brown assured Thursday’s celebration would be a safe one. He promised that anyone making trouble would be arrested.