MU gameday security involves all local law enforcement

Dozens of Missouri State Highway Patrol troopers trickled out of the University of Missouri Police Department station Saturday afternoon following their briefing on gameday security.

“Troopers assist us with all the traffic lights that are around the stadium to help make sure that the traffic keeps flowing and gets into the parking lots around stadium,” said Maj. Brian Weimer with MUPD. “Then they’ll help us again on outbound traffic to make things go as smoothly as possible.”

Fans will mostly see troopers at the stoplights surrounding Memorial Stadium but mostly Boone County deputies and MUPD officers take care of security detail inside.

“Inside they’re looking for problems and issue to try and head them off ahead of time,” Weimer said. “We have people who try to bring alcohol into the stadium and cause problems later, so obviously they’ll be ejected from the game and they also assist with medical emergencies.”

There aren’t any new security measures in place this season but every home game MUPD will use its bomb-sniffing dog to check every nook and cranny of the stadium. Capitol police also brings its dog to assist.

“There is also the bomb team that’s on-site if we would need it,” Weimer said. “We have individuals from the FBI and other groups that are here to help support us too and make sure that we’re sharing information back and forth.”

Post-game traffic can pose a dangerous problem for drivers and pedestrians because it will most likely be crowded and dark, and people have been drinking all day. Weimer says in order for everyone to be safe and for traffic to move as smoothly, fans needs to be patient.

“Many times people can figure out how they can get home faster but realize there’s over 55,000 people that are there there today and the traffic flow patterns are designed to help those 55,000 people get home as quickly and as safely as possible,” Weimer said.

If there are any home games during hot weather, law enforcement officials urge people to drink lots of water, especially if they’ve been drinking alcohol out at a tailgate all day.

After each game, law enforcement officials will evaluate the game security and decide what could be better for the next game.