Mass. police get burned as 4,000 teens flood beach

[May 05, 2009]  REVERE, Mass. (AP) -- City councilors just outside Boston say police should be better prepared for large crowds descending on a local beach after thousands of students skipped school and headed there.

Authorities were caught off guard April 28 when as many as 4,000 teenagers playing hooky hopped on trains and descended on Revere Beach, considered the country's oldest public beach. The temperature hit a record 93 degrees that day.

Local, state and transit police say they reacted as quickly as possible. But traffic was tied up on nearby streets for much of the day.

Six people were arrested, and one injury was reported.

Council President Daniel Rizzo called Monday for coordinated police planning to avoid similar crowd and traffic problems in the future.

[Associated Press]

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