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Up to a million people were expected to be hanging around the perimeter of Michael Jackson's memorial service this morning at the Staples Center. But walking downtown streets a few blocks away, the scene was relatively normal, save for the heavy police presence, the constant drone of helicopters and a handful of vendors selling Michael Jackson buttons and t-shirts.
The largest crowd, maybe one or two hundred people, surrounded the wristband entrance to the security perimeter at Figueroa and Olympic. As long as you had a wristband, any colored wristband it seemed, got you through. Beyond that, depending on where you were going, more wristband checkpoints were set up.
Although more crowded on Chick Hearn Court, spirits were high and everything flowed smoothly, leaving the thousands of police with bored countenances.
