Mizzou Homecoming brings large crowds downtown
Homecoming weekend draws a lot of people to downtown Columbia from all over, but a Columbia Police spokesperson said it draws “a different crowd,” than the groups usually downtown on a Saturday night.
ABC 17 News asked how the Columbia Police Department is going to make sure downtown is safe with the large crowds this weekend after multiple downtown shootings this summer.
“We plan for homecoming and will have adequate officers on duty tonight as we did last (Friday) night.” Columbia Police spokesperson Steven Sapp said in an email to ABC 17 News Saturday. “We always have the ability to scale up if needed.”
Columbia police took precautionary measures to make downtown safer after summer downtown violence, which included increasing patrols. The city of Columbia installed new lights as well.
“The overall goal and mission of the department is the safety of the event and the campus in general, to make sure our community has a safe learning environment and is able to participate in events like this, for everyone to have a good time, for us to win the football game and for it to go off again without any problems,” University of Missouri Police Department Major Brian Weimer said.
City of Columbia Traffic Engineering Supervisor said law enforcement and city agencies works together to make sure all Homecoming events go off without a hitch.
“On all special events we work with the police department and the city,” he said.
