Minneapolis Star Tribune (Minneapolis, Minn.)
BOSTON - The chaos after the New England Patriots’ Super Bowl win overwhelmed police radio channels to the point that dispatchers couldn’t understand officers calling in and the commander in charge didn’t hear calls meant for him, according to transcripts of the transmissions.
The scene became so confusing the night of Feb. 1 that officers resorted to using cell phones, The Boston Globe reported Friday.
Police have been criticized for being unprepared for the post-Super Bowl celebrations, in which one person died when an alleged drunken driver drove his sport utility vehicle into a crowd.
An internal report last month said the department did not put enough officers in the field and criticized acting commissioner James Hussey for watching the game at home while fans lit fires and flipped cars.
Superintendent Robert Dunford, who was the commander that night, was cited for failing to properly monitor the situation and being ``unresponsive to radio communications.’'
Dunford, a 34-year veteran of the Boston Police Department, told the Globe he was in constant communication with officers in the field and gave officers all the direction he could.
He said he was not hearing calls intended for him. ``The first time I knew they tried to reach me was when I listened to the
``There was so much noise going on - people on other channels that I was trying to monitor,’' he said. ``One of our mistakes is we should have been on a single radio channel and we should have had someone in headquarters monitoring the resources.’'
The transcripts, which the Globe obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request, show police were caught off guard by the crowds that spilled into the streets after the game against the Carolina Panthers ended at 10:30 p.m.
``Can we get a couple of more units over here?’' one officer said. ``They’re smashing the windshields over here.’'
After an alleged drunk driver hit and killed James Grabowski, 21, another officer asked for direction.
``Lieutenant, we have some people hurt here pretty seriously. One can even be a fatal,’' the officer said. ``I don’t know how you want to try and work this. ... This scene is crazy.’'
Police Commissioner Kathleen O’Toole, who was appointed by Mayor Thomas Menino shortly after the riot, said the department has learned from mistakes made that night. Hussey has since been removed from the command staff.