Citing concerns with violence and low staffing levels, a Boston city councilor formally requested that police department leadership enlist the help of outside law enforcement agencies to “ensure public safety” at this weekend’s festival and events.
City Councilor Ed Flynn made the request in a Tuesday email sent to Boston Police Commissioner Michael Cox and Superintendent Lanita Cullinane, citing the need for increased enforcement at the “many events” scheduled this weekend, including the Caribbean Carnival celebration — which was associated with a mass shooting last year.
“I am respectfully requesting for the Boston Police Department to formally request law enforcement assistance of neighboring cities and towns for this weekend with many events taking place across the city, including the Caribbean parade,” Flynn wrote in the email, which was obtained by the Herald.
“Please note I have heard directly from members of the Boston Police Department, city residents and businesses on concerns about our staffing levels, as there are a number of events or large gatherings scheduled,” the councilor added. “Therefore, I am asking if we can identify any assistance from other police departments throughout Greater Boston, including our affiliation with the Metro Boston Homeland Security Region, that would help our city and department to ensure public safety this weekend.”
Flynn’s request follows concerns cited earlier this week by Larry Calderone, president of the Boston Police Patrolmen’s Association, the city’s largest union, who said that although the department will deploy an all-hands-on-deck approach at Saturday’s Caribbean festival and parades, there aren’t enough available officers to appropriately cover regular citywide patrols and concurrent large-scale events.
A police source within the department told the Herald that police have a “heightened sense of alertness” every year heading into the Caribbean festival, which is known for “violence” and “gunplay.”
Eight people were shot during the J’ouvert, a morning parade associated with the Carnival, last summer, and this year’s event is occurring soon after last Sunday’s violence at the Dominican Festival in Franklin Park, where five people were shot.
Flynn, who drew blowback after pitching a pause on events in the downtown and on Boston Common, due to a stabbing in Downtown Crossing that nearly killed a man, said Wednesday that residents and business owners in the area “are asking for public safety support due to the violence taking place.”
Mariellen Burns, a spokesperson for the Boston Police Department, said BPD already coordinates with city agencies and law enforcement partners for the scheduled events.
“We thank the councilor for his input,” Burns said in a statement. “The department has been working for many months with the organizers of the yearly events scheduled for this weekend. As we do in all of our planning efforts, we’ve made adjustments to the events themselves and to our deployment, to support public safety in the best ways possible.
“Leading up to the events and throughout the weekend we will continue to take the feedback of the community, intelligence and data into account to proactively mitigate or address any issues,” Burns added. “This year, as in years past, we will partner with other city agencies and law enforcement partners who have jurisdiction in the areas where the events take place.”
Mayor Michelle Wu’s office deferred comment to BPD, but said earlier this week that the city and Caribbean Carnival organizers debriefed after last year’s event, and “decided to change the location of the J’ouvert for the best experience and for safety.”
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