Boston plans heavy police presence to avoid post-Super Bowl chaos

[January 31, 2015]  By Scott Malone
 
 BOSTON (Reuters) - Boston officials on Friday said they planned a heavy police presence and travel restrictions in some areas when the New England Patriots play in Sunday's Super Bowl, hoping to avert the violence seen following championships a decade ago.

"We're not going to allow celebrations to become an excuse for dangerous and illegal behavior in the city of Boston," Mayor Marty Walsh said at a news conference. "We're not going to tolerate public drinking, we're not going to tolerate destruction of property."

The Patriots face the Seattle Seahawks in the Super Bowl in Phoenix on Sunday.

Police said they would limit travel around several large universities and near the arena where the Boston Bruins and Celtics play beginning at 6 p.m. EST, a half-hour before kickoff. They will shut access to the neighborhood around Fenway Park, home of the Boston Red Sox, after the third quarter of Sunday's game.

"As you know, over the last 10 years there's been some tragedies around these sports celebrations and we do everything we can to make sure no one gets hurt," Boston Police Commissioner William Evans told reporters.

In 2004 two people were killed in post-game riots in Boston - one following the Patriots' loss to the Carolina Panthers in the Super Bowl and another after the Red Sox defeated the New York Yankees in the American League championship, a game that sent the team on to its first World Series win in 86 years.

In Seattle, police were also planning a heavier patrol presence across the city, including squads that look out for people driving while intoxicated.

After the Seahawks won the Super Bowl last year, overly enthusiastic fans gathered in streets and lit fires in several city intersections.

"We've learned a lot from last year," said Seattle Police Department spokesman Patrick Michaud." "We've got this down to a science."

Boston fans also have tipped over cars, thrown bottles and set fires following other championships in the past decade.

Evans declined to say how many police officers would be out on the street on Sunday night, other than to say there would be enough officers to maintain order.

"I've been a sports fan my entire life and it amazes me when other cities win the championship and what happens in those cities when people flip cars over and burn cars," Walsh said. "That's not a celebration. That's not a celebration at all."

(Reporting by Scott Malone; Additional reporting by Victoria Cavaliere in Seattle; Editing by Bill Trott and Eric Beech)

[© 2015 Thomson Reuters. All rights reserved.]

Copyright 2015 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.