GRPS officers get Super Bowl duty

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) - Five Grand Rapids Public Schools Public Safety officers will be inside Lucas Oil Stadium this weekend working with NFL security for Super Bowl XLVI.

Executive director of public safety Larry Johnson will join the officers to keep players and fans safe during festivities surrounding the game.

NFL security officials reached out to GRPS Public Safety because of its national reputation and the Incident Command and Homeland Security training Johnson and his team provides to GRPS and neighboring public and private schools.

Due to those trainings, the GRPS officers' security status has been elevated to allow them to work inside the stadium alongside NFL security. They will be responsible for supervising security teams on Saturday during the VIP events and on the field during the game on Sunday.

The GRPS officers are James Stokes, Christina Johnson, Faustino Garcia, Arnell Fleming and Tamara Robinson. To prepare for their role, the officers have spent several weekends in Indianapolis.

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24 Hour News 8 Sports Director Jack Doles is in Indianapolis, covering the game. You can follow him on Twitter @jackdoles and #superbowl