LOS ANGELES (CNS) - The Los Angeles Police Department will increase deployments starting Thursday and through the Super Bowl to prepare for possible rowdy celebrations and other disruptions, as the region hosts the game with one of its own teams playing, Police Chief Michel Moore said today.
The increased deployments will last through the day after the game, which is scheduled for Feb. 13 at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, Moore told the city's Police Commission. Additional personnel will be sent to the downtown Los Angeles area, where NFL-sanctioned events, including the Super Bowl Experience Presented by Lowe's, are taking place.
Moore said the department will mobilize resources downtown and in other parts of the city out of concern that celebrations could devolve into violence, fires and property damage. At the same time, he noted that celebrations remained peaceful after the Rams won Sunday's NFC championship game, qualifying them for the Super Bowl.
``This was not just a win for the L.A. Rams, it was a win for L.A. Because we've seen times past where that's not always the case,'' Moore said.
The LAPD also increased deployments ahead of Sunday's game, which was also held at SoFi Stadium.
The department began planning for Los Angeles to host the Super Bowl two years ago, Moore said. It is also working with federal, state and local partners. Along with additional deployments and a ``highly-visible'' police presence in areas around the city, Moore said there will be extra security screenings and vehicle checks at events associated with the Super Bowl.
``Please enjoy, come out, be a part of this experience. It is a historic event, but also recognize that law enforcement -- not just LAPD, but the sheriff's department, agencies around this region, as well as our state and federal partners -- are all leaning in very closely,'' Moore said. ``We're on the world stage, we recognize that there are individuals that may wish to disrupt this or somehow distract us away from this event, and we're well prepared for them.''
He said the department has the ability to deploy thousands of additional officers if necessary.
``We're identifying missions, tasks and assignments that are based at each of these events and venues to ensure layers of security, layers of safety and redundancies, and then scaling that up across the entire city and at the same time ensuring that patrol resources in our geographic areas remain at 100% patrol plan,'' he said.
This will be the first Super Bowl in the Los Angeles area since the 1993 game was played at the Rose Bowl.