Boise’s Treefort Music Fest is expected to bring more than 15,000 people into downtown this weekend. So how do Boise cops handle all the increased traffic?
Sgt. Matt Bryngelson is well suited to help keep people safe at a music festival -- not just because he’s a police officer -- but because he’s a music lover himself. Bryngelson is a volunteer DJ at Radio Boise, where he spins metal records late on Saturday nights.
As a Boise Police officer, he’ll help direct traffic and make sure there’s a constant and visible police presence at the event, which ends late Sunday night. Bryngelson says he wants attendees to know they can approach officers if there’s any problem at the festival.
“We’re not going to minimize anything; we’re going to take everything very seriously," he says. "Because this is our city, we’re going to have a lot of people down there and we want to make sure everyone’s as safe as can possibly be.”
The officer says that most people are patient when they drive downtown during the event, which blocks off Grove Street between 11th and 13th streets. Brygelson notes that as the festival has grown in recent years, so has their presence at the event.
Find reporter Frankie Barnhill on Twitter @FABarnhill
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