Over 200 Baltimore Police Officers To Be Added To Downtown Area For Fourth Of July Holiday
BALTIMORE (WJZ) — We're just one day away from the Fourth of July, and that means a lot of behind the scenes prep, whether it's setting up in the Inner Harbor or creating a security plan for the downtown area.
Baltimore City said in order for the Fourth of July to be fun-- it also has to be safe.
"There will be 200 plus officers added to the Baltimore downtown area," Baltimore Police Commissioner Michael Harrison.
Harrison said none of those officers were pulled away from any of the districts.
Transit Authority Police will be helping out at buses and subways, and traffic control will have about 50 officers directing traffic.
Officers said they'll also be paying special attention to illegal celebrations like celebratory gunfire.
"Bullets come down at the same velocity that they go up which means they can cause serious injury or death," Harrison said.
Instead, police are asking that you leave it to the professionals.
Each individual firework for Baltimore's Inner Harbor show is specially designed, filled and programmed by technicians from Pyrotechnico.
The show happens right at the Smith Shipyard on Curtis Bay.
"We set the tubes in specific angles and what not you know, where we want to see them to burst into the sky," said Jason Farrell, scripting coordinator at Pyrotecnico.
A GPS clock will tell each one of the shells when and where to go- paired with some of our favorite patriotic tunes.
"We'll hit a couple buttons and watch the show go," Farrell said.
The festivities start at 7 p.m. at the Amphitheatre in the Inner Harbor. The fireworks are scheduled for 9:30 p.m.
Organizers suggest people leave plenty of time to get down to the show and find parking in one of the garages or on a well-lit side street.