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Council hearing on safety at large events: councilors fault administration absence; docket remains in committee
Summary
Councilors criticized city department leadership after several senior officials failed to appear at a scheduled Committee on Public Safety hearing on public-safety preparations for large events. The committee kept the matter in committee and will reschedule a follow‑up with expected attendance by police, fire and EMS chiefs.
A Committee on Public Safety hearing to review “enhanced public safety measures during large events” prompted sharp criticism after multiple key agency leaders were absent from the panel.
Committee Chair Ricardo Santana, who presided over the Jan. 28 hearing, said representatives from the Boston Police Department, Boston EMS, the Boston Fire Department, and other offices were invited to testify. Several of the named agency heads — including the police commissioner, the fire commissioner and the EMS chief — were in City Hall but did not appear before the committee, Councilor Kenzie Murphy said on the council floor the next day.
“I rise today to express my deep frustration and disappointment with the administration’s continued disregard for the city council’s role,” Murphy said. She said it was “not the first time” scheduled officials failed to attend hearings and that the oversight process was being undermined.
Officials who did attend included Adrian Jordan, chief of emergency preparedness (Office of Emergency Management); Captain Timothy Connolly of the Boston Police Department’s Homeland Security Unit; Deputy Chief Matthew Kearney (Office of Emergency Management); and outside security consultant Ed Cash of Frontier Security Strategies. The panel addressed topics including interagency coordination, contingency planning and intelligence sharing for major events.
Chair Santana recommended the docket remain in committee to allow the panel to reschedule and to secure attendance by the missing agency heads. Several councilors — including Erin Flynn and John Fitzgerald — said they intended to reschedule within 30 days to address event planning ahead of spring parades and other large gatherings.
Why it matters
Boston hosts numerous large public events each year and depends on interagency coordination (police, fire, EMS, transportation, public works) to manage crowd safety, traffic and medical response. Councilors said the hearing revealed gaps in communications and that the council needs to have the responsible leaders present to answer detailed operational questions.
What’s next
The committee kept docket 0163 in committee and will reschedule; councilors demanded written commitments that senior department leadership attend the reconvened hearing.
Ending
Councilors said they would press the administration for improved cooperation; Councilor Murphy said she expected the full attendance the next time the committee meets on this docket.
