The College Football Playoff semifinal showdown between the Georgia Bulldogs and the Notre Dame Fighting Irish was marred by tragedy when a man drove a truck through a crowd of people in the early morning of the game, killing 14 people and forcing the game to be postponed. As a result, it sounds like the NFL is ramping up security before the Super Bowl.
The Super Bowl is also set to be played in New Orleans – five weeks after the deadly attack that killed 14 and forced the game to be postponed. But this time, officials say they are taking extra precautions and increasing security.
“We’ve increased our security posture significantly so that people can come here, they can see a strong law enforcement presence,” said Eric DeLaune, Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations in New Orleans who is leading federal coordination for Super Bowl LIX, via ESPN.
“I’d like to say it doesn’t change a lot in our security planning, but it does change things,” the NFL’s Chief Security Officer Cathy Lanier told ESPN. “Are we doing anything differently? Of course.”
DLaune said that there will be SWAT team members, armored vehicles, special agents on rooftops, government surveillance drones and extra security cameras around the city
“My goal was that you couldn’t walk a city block in downtown New Orleans without at least encountering one law enforcement official,” DeLaune said. “I’m not trying to make people afraid. I want people to see that we’re prepared.”
In addition to the uniformed police officers, DeLaune said there will be plenty of undercover, plain-clothed officers, too.
“You’ll see plenty of uniformed people but there are going to be lots of plainclothes people in the crowds too,” DeLaune said. “We want people to know that.”
More than 125,000 people are expected to travel to New Orleans for the Super Bowl which takes place on Feb. 9. And it’s clear that officials want to make sure they’re safe.
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