As the UPoR reports, City Manager Ron Carlee has declared Saturday’s Liverpool – AC Milan soccer match and associated events an “Extraordinary Event,” limiting the items people are allowed to carry in “inside a corridor of West Carson Boulevard, South Cedar Street, West Trade Street and South Tryon Street.” The justification for the declaration:
“Although there is currently no known intelligence regarding threats for the game or related events, there is a general security threat due to recent world developments, large crowds with public access, and the potential for harm to take place during an international sporting event.”
So there’s no actual threat but the CMPD still gets extra police powers because Ron Carlee said so. And if the mere presence of a sporting event at Bank of America Stadium that draws lots of people justifies declaring an Extraordinary Event declaration, then Carlee should also declare Panthers home games and the Belk Bowl Extraordinary Events. His failure to do so demonstrates the utter arbitrariness of the designation. Special police powers based upon arbitrary designations such as this simply should not exist in a free society. And by using the designation as he does, Carlee shows exactly what sort of a gutless, unprincipled empty suit he is.
