Hourly Update

Police chief, rodeo parade board to discuss safety at future parades

Tucson Rodeo Parade Committee board members will meet with Police Chief Richard Miranda at 5:30 tonight to discuss the police investigation into the death 5-year-old Brielle Boisvert, a Department spokeswoman said. The meeting aims to help parade officials increase safety measures for next year's La Fiesta de los Vaqueros Rodeo Parade, said Lt. Vicki Reza, the spokeswoman. The officials can use information gained from the meeting when they present results of their investigation to the Mayor and Council, Reza said. Brielle, who rode in the parade in violation of parade rules that require mounted participants be at least 8, was killed Feb. 22 when horses pulling a wagon behind her spooked and ran into her horse. She fell and was crushed beneath the oncoming wagon. Results of the police investigation into her death were made public in mid-March. While the investigation could not conclusively determine what startled the horses, the wagon driver said he believed a woman wearing an 1860s-era purple dress carrying a parasol may have spooked them. No criminal charges in connection with the girl's death were filed after the investigation. Rodeo Parade spokesman Herb Wagner said Miranda called for the meeting several weeks ago after the police investigation was completed. The parade committee plans to compile the results of its investigation in mid-May and present them to the Mayor and Council at some point after that, Wagner said.