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Photo by Mark Garfinkel
Mayor Thomas M. Menino speaks about Super Bowl security plans for the Hub yesterday.

Legions take Sunday off despite riot fears

Hundreds of Boston cops are taking Sunday off and planning their own private Super Bowl festivities, even as the city braces for raucous and potentially violent post-game street celebrations.
Boston Police Department officials acknowledge that more than 200 cops are taking personal days on Super Sunday, but one source put the number closer to 300.
Police brass and union officials insist the widespread call-out does not pose a public safety threat, but one City Hall critic says the overtime costs to cover the missing cops could be a budget buster.
“It’s an added expense,” said Samuel Tyler, president of the Boston Municipal Research Bureau. “Whenever there’s a major championship event, whether it’s the Red Sox [team stats] or the Patriots [team stats], it means it’s going to be expensive for the city of Boston . . . It certainly ups the cost. Officers who are on duty, they’ll be coming in and being paid overtime. It’s another expense that the city has to bear.”
BPD spokeswoman Elaine Driscoll said the department does not anticipate spending more on overtime than it did after Game 4 of the 2007 World Series. She also said the department has filled all the vacancies and extra shifts required to handle potential rioters.
“We are confident that our deployment numbers throughout the evening will suffice and will be able to be adjusted as needed,” Driscoll said. “The Police Department has contingency plans in the event that more officers are needed throughout the course of the night.”
She added that the number of cops who called out is no higher than during the Red Sox playoff and World Series games.
Boston Police Patrolmen’s Union President Tom Nee said many of the cops who took the day off worked Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s Eve, spending the holidays away from their families. He said an officer’s four personal days per year are their few guaranteed days off.
“They don’t even get a guaranteed vacation,” he said. “There’s nothing wrong with a police officer wanting to spend time with his family and friends.”
To avoid a repeat of past pandemonium, city officials yesterday promised to arrest any out-of-control fans tomorrow when the New England Patriots [team stats] go for their fourth Super Bowl title.
“Public drinking will not be tolerated,” Mayor Thomas M. Menino said at a press conference at City Hall. “Neither will dangerous behavior.”
Although he declined to say precisely how many officers will be working as the Patriots take on the New York Giants in Arizona, Police Commissioner Edward Davis said Kenmore Square will have a particularly large number of officers who will restrict access to the square during the game’s fourth quarter.
Kenmore traditionally has been a rallying point for sports fans. But police want to avoid the kind of melees that have led to the deaths of two students in recent years.

http://bostonherald.com/news/regiona...icleid=1070742

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