The response was much like that of a father when handed the bill for his daughter’s wedding reception. Joy trumps outrage every time.
So, when the city of Los Angeles informed the Dodgers that its police and fire department services for the Nov. 1 parade to celebrate the World Series championship totaled $2,028,805.19, the team was only too happy to cut the check.
The parade began at City Hall, meandered to the Walt Disney Concert Hall and ended at Fifth and Flower streets, wheeling through downtown on open-top double-decker buses with an estimated 250,000 fans lining the streets. Then came a boisterous rally in front of 42,000 fans at Dodger Stadium.
It was the parade the Dodgers couldn’t stage after winning the 2020 World Series during the COVID shutdown. It was their first parade, in fact, since winning the World Series in 1988.
“I’m telling you, the game is about the players and the fans,” manager Dave Roberts told The Times. “And in 2020 we just didn’t have that opportunity. … The city needed this parade.”
State law requires applicants — in this case, the Dodgers — requesting a permit to conduct a “special event” to pay “the city’s actual cost of providing the required number of police and other city employees necessary to ensure the safety of both the participants and the community.”
Therefore, it was the Dodgers — and not taxpayers — who will pay the Los Angeles Police Department $1,738,621.19 and the L.A. Fire Department $290,184 for making sure the celebration was conducted in a safe, orderly manner.
Good thing, given the dire financial straits the city of L.A. finds itself in. City departments went at least $215 million over budget from the beginning of the fiscal year July 1 through Oct. 31, according to an analysis. Expensive legal settlements and court judgments resulting from lawsuits against the city have been especially costly.
“We have been working closely with the city for some time and will be finalizing the total reimbursement soon,” the Dodgers said in a statement to The Times. “It was a great event for the city, Dodger fans and our team, and we’re grateful for the joint support of the Dodgers provided by the city as a whole, especially the Mayor, the City Council, the LAPD, the LAFD and the [Department of Transportation].”
According to a city expenditure report, nearly all the money spent by the LAPD on the parade went to pay officers by the hour, from a communications intern to numerous officers to a deputy chief, although $415,464 was charged for “fringe benefits” listed under “indirect costs.” Maybe the blue Dodgers caps several of the officers wore fell into that category.
The LAPD bill broke down the total number of man and woman hours: 8,823.
A few days earlier when the Dodgers defeated the New York Yankees in Game 5 to take the World Series title, unruly fans set fire to an L.A. Metro bus and commandeered street intersections for burnouts and street racing. More than 70 people were arrested for vandalism, assault on a police officer and failure to disperse.
No such behavior marred the parade. The only arrest reported was of a man who threw a bottle at officers. A group of rowdy fans hanging around afterward were ushered from the parade route by officers in tactical gear marching in formation. Otherwise, it was a cheerful outpouring of appreciation for the Dodgers.
All to be paid for by the Dodgers.
