Neo-Nazi march costs police thousands for equipment, overtime

Almost $40,000 was spent on additional security and supplies for the 45-minute National Socialist Movement march in downtown Columbia on Saturday, state and local law enforcement officials said Wednesday. Most of the city’s expenditures went toward the Columbia Police Department.

“We don’t have an exact figure, but it’s going to be in the thousands,” Columbia Police Capt. Brad Nelson said.

Columbia Police Chief Randy Boehm said the estimated cost in overtime pay for the 52 police officers who worked the event will be $18,000.

The department also spent an additional $6,000 on riot gear such as shields, plastic hand cuffs and mace, Nelson said.

In addition to city officers, Nelson said about 110 officers from other state law enforcement agencies were also present at the parade, including 20 from the Missouri State Highway Patrol, 24 from the Boone County Sheriff’s Department, 15 from the Jefferson City Police Department and seven from the MU Police Department.

Each of the police departments will pay the additional costs incurred during the parade because of a mutual aid agreement.

Boehm said that this is not a frequent occurrence, but it’s not unusual for one department to send officers to aid another several times a year.

“Aiding each other is what we all do,” Boehm said.

Boone County Sheriff Dwayne Carey estimated his department’s costs at $2,700 in overtime for 15 officers who would not normally have been on duty.

Jefferson City Police Department Administration Capt. Jim Johnsen said his department also spent about $2,200 in overtime for the 15 officers it had at the event.

Both Carey and Johnsen said that their departments borrowed additional gear from the Columbia Police Department.

Missouri State Highway Patrol provided a helicopter for the event, patrol spokesman John Hotz said. The fuel for the helicopter cost $380, which was the only additional expense the Highway Patrol had to pay for its role in the event, Hotz said.

The 20 Highway Patrol troopers present at the event were not working overtime, Hotz said. He added that the helicopter could also not be counted as an additional cost because it would probably have been used for another project anyway.

“If they weren’t flying there (in Columbia), they would have been flying somewhere else,” Hotz said.

In addition to the police department’s costs, Columbia’s Assistant City Manager Toni St. Romaine said other city departments incurred expenditures as well:

• An estimated $5,000 was spent in overtime pay for city officials planning and preparing for the event.
• $1,800 was spent for 18 stand-by firefighters at Stations 1, 2 and 3 in case of emergency.
• $2,500 was spent for additional 911 dispatch personnel and necessary materials in case a riot broke out.
• $375 was spent by the Public Works Department to clean up the parade area after the event.
• $760 was spent by the Parks and Recreation Department to staff and supply the “Spark in the Park” Douglass Park event.
• $250 was spent by the Health Department for supplies.