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Amsterdam PBA warns council: removing on-duty police at Mohawks games would raise safety risks
Summary
Detective Mike Palmarino, speaking for the Amsterdam PBA, told the council that uniformed city officers at Mohawks games respond to medical incidents, fights, intoxicated individuals and lost children and that replacing them with private security would create unnecessary risk.
Detective Mike Palmarino, a member of the Amsterdam Police Department and vice president of the Amsterdam PBA, urged the council to reject changes to the city code that would allow private security in place of on-duty city officers at stadium-style gatherings in city parks.
"Police presence at these games is not simply ceremonial," Palmarino said in public comment, adding that officers are there to "respond quickly to emergencies, disturbances, medical incidents, traffic concerns, fights, intoxicated individuals, lost children" and other unforeseen circumstances that can arise at mass gatherings. He told the council the department has about 37 people and that officers who work Mohawks events often receive overtime pay rather than a permanent salary increase.
Palmarino said the proposal would shift costs and responsibilities toward event organizers and that the PBA's concern is not personal enrichment: "We're not asking for more money from the Mohawks to pad our pockets." He urged the council to consider the PBA's operational perspective before changing the code.
