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Gray Troopers to Help Protect Democratic Party Convention
By Elizabeth Prata

In less than three weeks, an anticipated crowd of 35,000 will descend on Boston as one of our nation's oldest cities plays host to the Democratic National Convention (DNC). Mainers from the area will be on hand for the mega-event including members of the Maine State Police’s Gray Barracks.

The FBI has warned of possible terrorist attacks during the convention. The Secret Service has demanded the closing of some of the city’s busiest arteries during peak travel hours due to security concerns that will cause what is expected to be record-setting traffic problems. Various groups have promised to stage protests during convention venues. Boston Mayor Tom Menino has warned that picket lines set up by the Boston police union could cause problems for convention-goers. As many as 2,500 people are expected to be arrested in connection with convention demonstrations and protests during the weeklong political gathering.

How can Massachusetts handle all of the challenges associated with hosting such a major gathering? They ask for help. Colonel Thomas Robbins, the Superintendent of the Massachusetts State Police, sent out the call for help through the New England State Police Administrators Conference (NESPAC). NASPAC consists of administrators from State Police in all six New England states.

Chief of the Maine State Police Colonel Craig A. Poulin said that as many as twenty-five Maine State troopers, including those from the barracks in Gray, will be sent to Boston to help with the myriad support efforts. "I carefully considered the request and am pleased that Maine State Police can assist in the security for the convention,” Poulin said last Thursday. “This is why NESPAC was established years ago: to provide for mutual law enforcement assistance within New England." Poulin said that volunteers would be pulled in to ensure that all patrols remained at full force.

The last time Maine troopers were called to work under NESPAC was in 1997 for the search in Maine for the body of Massachusetts murder victim Jeffrey Curley and a shooting rampage in Colebrook VT that killed four people. The largest call out was in the 1970's to assist New Hampshire State Police with protests at the Seabrook Nuclear Power Plant.

Maine’s troopers will be joined in securing Boston by approximately 600 members of the U.S. Coast Guard. The Coast Guard has been planning for the event for 18 months and will set up a 250-foot restricted zone around Logan International Airport. Not only will boats be prevented from getting anywhere near the airport, but they will be prevented from sailing near the convention site- The FleetCenter – which sits near the mouth of the Charles River as it feeds into Boston Harbor.