MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. - Minneapolis Mayor Betsy Hodges and Mayor-elect Jacob Frey are asking for the Minnesota National Guard's assistance during Super Bowl 52.
The pair sent a letter to Governor Mark Dayton this week with details of their request.
The letter states that the Super Bowl is a federally-designated Special Events Assessment Rating Level One event and a reason for the request is "...the 888 officers of the Minneapolis Police Department cannot by themselves meet of all the safety and security needs of the 10 days of Super Bowl LII while maintaining public-safety operations for the entire city, even with the assistance that we will be receiving from other local law-enforcement agencies."
If the National Guard assists, it will handle things like pedestrian safety, traffic control and security during events.
City leaders say this request is routine. At nearly every Super Bowl since 2002, local law enforcement have been assisted by the National Guard. However, this year's game in Houston did not have the presence of the Guard. That's because the city had 5,200 officers to handle security.
KARE 11 has previously reported that several law enforcement agencies will assist with security during the Super Bowl, including the FBI. However, the Minneapolis Police Department will remain the lead security agency for the 10 days of events.