Councillors seek police plans to curb potential violence on Memorial Day weekend

By Barbara Taormina

Police Chief David Callahan and Massachusetts State Police Commander Lt. Donald Bosse were at this week’s City Council meeting in response to a request from Councillors Michelle Kelley and Marc Silvestri for an update on safety and security measures in place on Revere Beach in preparation for Memorial Day weekend.

“We’ve seen some incidents,” said Kelley. “I don’t think anyone wants to see a repeat performance of last year.

Last Memorial Day weekend, three people were injured during two separate shootings.

Callahan said he is in constant communication with Bosse and the state barracks, which has jurisdiction over the beach. “We always have a plan in place but it’s challenging because a lot depends on the weather,” said Callahan, who added that he has been talking with police chiefs in neighboring communities.

Bosse explained the challenges manning patrols and said the state funds dedicated or extra patrols when needed. He said the state police also have an alliance with Troop F at Logan Airport and Troop H from Greater Boston, and they will respond when called. “Unfortunately, last Memorial Day got ahead of us. We try to protect, try to have resources in place. We could make the beaches safe but it would require a military show of force. People don’t want to see that,” Bosse told the council.

Councillor-at-Large Marc Silvestri was the first to ask what was on the minds of several councillors. “My biggest concern is how do we prevent the youth from other cities from taking the train to Revere,” said Silvestri.

Bosse said they are depending on warnings from the MBTA’s Transit Police, who will let state police know if there are crowds. He said there’s a need to understand the nature of the crowd, adding that there would be no response for events such as senior skip day by Boston school students.

Ward 5 Councillor Angela Guarino-Sawaya asked if it is possible to keep the train from stopping at Revere Beach. Bosse said that could be unconstitutional and added that police try to evacuate the beach by getting people on the trains.

Ward 2 Councillor Ira Novoselsky praised the work of the Community Action Team. Bosse said they are part of the response plan and Revere Beach is the main area in which they patrol.

Councillor-at-Large Robert Haas asked if police were monitoring social media. Bosse said it was being tracked but it’s challenging to sort out credible threats from chatter. Three weeks after last year’s shootings, police were monitoring an online call to go back to Revere Beach but they realized later it was one kid looking for attention.

“I am confident that something will happen this year,” said Bosse, adding “No plan is perfect but we will do our best.”