Moon Police to Spend $15,000 on Overtime at Wings Over Pittsburgh

Chief Leo McCarthy said a dozen additional officers will be needed next month to patrol during the Wings Over Pittsburgh air show at the 911th Airlift Wing base.

The event takes place Sept. 10-11 and usually draws more than 250,000 attendees from across the region and other states, according to organizers. 

Last year, Moon Police spent approximately $15,440.55 on overtime costs for officers patrolling the air show. The department likely will spend the same amount this year, McCarthy said. The cost to assign extra police is not reimbursed by event organizers. 

The officers will focus on traffic enforcement and parking issues during the event. 

"I can't remember ever having any arrests at the air show," McCarthy said. "You've got families and adults there who are interested in aeronautics. They aren't the type to really cause problems.

McCarthy said the department would schedule 12 additional officers to work overtime for the event in addition to the five officers regularly scheduled for weekend shifts. Capt. Greg Seamon is in charge of organizing the department's logistics and planning for the event. 

"We'll be directing traffic and keeping the peace," he said. 

Last year, additional officers also were needed to patrol for two days before the event while the United States Air Force Thunderbirds team practiced. 

McCarthy said that although this year the department would patrol only during the two-day event, overtime costs would be roughly the same because officers have received 2.5 percent annual pay raises since then.

 "Naturally, we would want to support the base," the chief said. "It's a great event, and a lot of our officers are ex-military members." 

Check back with Patch for coverage of the event.