Seattle police are drilling precision formations and maneuvers to safely move FIFA officials, players and referees through the city.
SEATTLE — With the FIFA World Cup fewer than 40 days away, the Seattle Police Department’s motorcycle unit is rehearsing the precision escorts it will use to move soccer players, officials and referees from hotels and training facilities to Lumen Field. The first match is set for June 15, kicking off a three-week operational period that officers say will be unlike anything the city has seen before.
“This will be larger than anything we have encountered,” said Capt. Randy Ward of the Seattle Police Traffic Section.
During a Thursday morning training session, the department granted KING 5 access to a full-scale rehearsal in which officers launched a mock escort from South Seattle over the West Seattle Bridge to Alki. The drills included tight formations, high-speed maneuvers and repeated practice of a 20-foot turning circle, according to Officer Bruce Case, who oversees all motorcycle training for the department’s Traffic Section.
The scale of the operation is significant. Ward said the city is expecting about 750,000 visitors for the six matches Seattle is hosting. During peak periods, the motorcycle unit could be managing several simultaneous convoys.
“At any given time, we may have four teams in the city that all require escorts,” Ward said. “So you can see how quickly we are going to drain our limited resources, so we have asked for mutual aid from other cities in the state.”
Departments from Kennewick and Lynnwood have answered that call. Officer Clark Savell of the Lynnwood Police Department said his department did not hesitate.
“When they asked for mutual aid, we of course wanted to be a part of it,” Savell said.
Savell emphasized the technical demands placed on motorcycle officers during a high-stakes escort.
“This is critical. You need to be able to move this 1,000-pound bike through traffic. You might need to split lanes, you might need to do a U-turn, you might need to stop on a dime,” he said.
Ward said the goal of the joint training is to bring all participating officers to the same standard.
“We are getting everybody up to the same skill level so we can operate as one team,” he said.
Case warned that crowds surrounding team hotels and transit routes will add another layer of difficulty.
“There are so many fans at the hotels and the places that we go, you just don’t understand how big the crowds are when they come in. We have to get through those crowds, however we need to get through them,” he said.
Ward said planning for the escort operation began when Seattle was announced as a host city. The three-week operational period, which requires the department to conduct escorts throughout the tournament, represents a challenge officers say they are determined to meet.
“We are just trying to do as much as we can to make it safe for the players and the officers, and enjoyable for the fans so they can get to and from the games,” Savell said.
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