Denver police are gearing up for a night of revelry on Super Bowl Sunday.
“Millions of eyes from around the globe will be on Santa Clara as they watch Super Bowl 50,” said Cmdr. Rick Kyle, of DPD's Community Relations Division. “After the Broncos win, those eyes will fall upon Denver, and as a world-class city, with the best, most loyal fans in the world, we want to celebrate responsibly and act like we’ve been there before.”
Kyle said he hopes the celebrations don’t get out of control, but adds that police will be prepared if they do.
Friday, DPD released several videos encouraging fans to celebrate within reason.
The videos, called Don’t be a Donkey, give a green check mark to fans celebrating responsibly, and a red circle slash to those doing the opposite.
One of the videos features comments from former Bronco Ed McCaffrey.
After past Super Bowl wins, some fans took to the streets, overturned cars, climbed on street light poles, broke windows and set bonfires. Police donned riot gear and used pepper spray to disperse the unruly crowd.
“It’s very important to us that everybody be able to celebrate in a safe environment,” Kyle said, “and to facilitate that, we’ll have a large number of officers out and about on Sunday, both on foot and in vehicles in the downtown area.”
Kyle said police are preparing for a number of scenarios. He wouldn’t go into detail, but did say that officers will be interacting with fans, and won’t be separate from them.
“I think it’ll be crazy,” said Broncos fan Susan Foley. “I’m not going to venture downtown at all, I’ll be home eating chicken 'parm' with my husband.”
“We’re super-excited about Super Bowl Sunday, said Suzi Gramm, the General Manager of Tom’s Urban in Larimer Square. “It should be a huge party, especially down here.”
Gramm is mindful of the destruction that took place following previous Super Bowl wins.
“It was absolutely terrifying,” she said.
Police have reached out to the business community and are encouraging them to take steps to limit injuries or damage.
Gramm said the suggestions include, “bringing in our flower boxes and patio furniture and serving drinks in plastic cups instead of glass.”
Kyle said anyone caught committing property damage will be arrested, and the appropriate charges will be filed.
“It may rise to the level of a felony,” he said, “depending on the damage that was caused.”
Kyle said police will also be patrolling for DUIs.
He said anyone celebrating with alcohol should consider a designated driver or the use of a taxi.
Fort Collins will also have extra police during Sunday's game. They're reminding CSU students that they can be expelled for a year and face criminal charges if they're caught rioting.
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