Police preparing for Super Bowl bonanza

‘ ‘ ‘ With the Steelers in the Super Bowl, students can almost expect trouble on Sunday. But… ‘ ‘ ‘ With the Steelers in the Super Bowl, students can almost expect trouble on Sunday. But whatever happens, the police have a plan. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ The Pitt police met with state, county and city police last Thursday to coordinate resources and make a plan for Super Bowl Sunday, Pitt police chief Tim Delaney said. ‘ ‘ ‘ The police plan is to follow basically the same template as they did for the last Steelers Super Bowl in 2006, he said.’ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘Pittsburgh has the benefit of a recent Super Bowl,’ he said. ‘ ‘ ‘ Delaney said the police would make some minor changes to the plan, but he would not release specifics. ‘ ‘ ‘ He said the police plan to focus their forces on the South Side, Oakland and the North Side and use barricades. ‘ ‘ ‘ They have asked the fire department to be prepared to respond, he said. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘We have to prepare for the worst,’ said Delaney. ‘ ‘ ‘ When the Steelers won the Super Bowl four years ago, the police ran out of fire extinguishers and had to call the fire department for reinforcement. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘It’s getting more intense,’ he said. ‘They try to outdo each other each time.’ ‘ ‘ ‘ After the last Super Bowl, students in Oakland overturned two to three vehicles and stuffed the gas tank of one vehicle with terrible towels and lit them on fire, said Delaney. Police put out the fire before any destruction could occur. ‘ ‘ ‘ Other students also lit a couch on fire and then tried to sit on it, he said. Officers immediately pulled the students off the couch. ‘ ‘ ‘ Delaney said the police will cite and arrest students for underage drinking, disorderly conduct and any other applicable charges, but they won’t have enough officers to arrest everyone. ‘ ‘ ‘ Police will also attempt to stop anyone who tries to overturn vehicles, he said, but this opens up the chance of a car overturning onto an officer or other person. ‘ ‘ ‘ If the police apprehend people destroying property, those people must pay for the property damage as part of their punishment. Otherwise, the owner of the property can file an insurance claim.’ ‘ ‘ ‘ In any celebration, the police must make sure that ambulances and buses can still get through the street, he said. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘There are people who don’t care about football,’ said Delaney. ‘ ‘ ‘ Recently, the police have noticed an influx of students from other universities participating in these celebrations, Delaney said. ‘ ‘ ‘ In terms of how long the celebrations last, Delaney said the police try to give people time to celebrate, but sometimes the weather does the work for them. ‘ ‘ ‘ When the Steelers won the AFC championship Jan. 18, police decided to give the crowd until midnight before they broke it up, but facing cold temperatures, the crowd left shortly before midnight, Delaney said. ‘ ‘ ‘ As advice to those celebrating, ‘Enjoy yourselves, but don’t go over the line,’ said Delaney.