LOS ANGELES (KNX) — The Los Angeles Police Department released a statement on Friday affirming it was “fully prepared to meet the public safety needs for this weekend’s NFL conference final” as well as the upcoming Super Bowl LVI at SoFi Stadium.
“LAPD has bolstered deployments across the entire city with hundreds of additional officers in uniform as well as specialized units,” the statement read. “These added staffing resources will ensure our community remains safe while deterring any celebratory unruly conduct or other disruptions.”
The statement came in response to a Los Angeles Times report published Tuesday that found about 2,500 LAPD and L.A. County Sheriff’s Department personnel are either home sick or quarantining due to COVID-19 in the week leading up to the Super Bowl.
LAPD Chief Michel Moore told The Times there had been a surge in breakthrough cases among vaccinated staff, who accounted for half of all those infected among sworn and civilian personnel. Eighty-three percent of LAPD staff are currently vaccinated against COVID-19.
On Friday, LAPD officials admitted that the department had “experienced a significant growth of COVID cases” but downplayed impact on the upcoming NFL events.
Moore told The Times the department had not yet had to take contingency measures to remedy decreased staffing levels due to the virus, such as cancellations of vacations or days off. But “those levers are still very much available to us,” he said.
“The department has been working in preparation for the upcoming NFL related events for more than a year,” officials said in Friday statements, contending that staffing levels were adequate to meet public safety needs for the events, and that the department was working closely with state and federal law enforcement agencies providing auxiliary support.
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