SUPERIOR, Wis. — Keeping citizens safe is one of the biggest jobs of a police department. And Superior Police Chief Nicholas Alexander says that especially means events with large crowds, like a parade.
It was in 2021 when six people were killed and dozens more injured when a vehicle plowed through a parade in Waukesha, Wisconsin.
Alexander said that parade created a heightened concern about protecting people from vehicles with drivers looking to do harm. That’s why his department is applying for a federal grant to purchase portable high-tech modular barriers.
Courtesy: Advanced Security Technologies
The lowest-level system costs around $200,000, which is the level Superior is looking to purchase.
The barriers come in a trailer and can be connected to block as many as eight lanes of traffic.
“It would certainly provide us the ability to block off traffic at least at the major arteries for an event like the July 4th parade. But over time, if you really wanted to block all of them with vehicle-stopping capability, you have to invest more,” Alexander said.
Beyond crowds, the barriers can be used to secure areas where high-profile politicians are visiting, like the president.
Chief Alexander said the barriers can also be used to protect sensitive infrastructure, like petroleum sites and the Duluth-Superior Port.
“From time to time those sites could be targeted or become at least subject to some concern where this type of device could be used to help secure our port, secure key infrastructure, provide higher level of protection for … a vehicle-based assault on one of those facilities,” Alexander explained.
If the department secures the Port Security Grant for the barriers, Alexander said he sees it as a resource that could be shared with other nearby departments like Duluth for Grandma’s Marathon or other large-scale events where terrorism is a concern.
This new tool would make the Superior Police Department again a leader in new technology in the Northland. The department is the only agency in the Northland with a state-of-the-art police-designed armored vehicle known as a BearCat. The department is also the first in our area to own a virtual training simulator designed to help officers better deescalate the most dangerous calls.
