Columbus police estimate that the riots after the OSU-Michigan football game last week will cost Columbus taxpayers more than $80,000. With exact figures still undetermined, there is no clue yet exactly how much the police department actually spent combating the post-game rioters.”The riot last April cost us about $80,000. This riot will most likely exceed that.” said police spokesman Sgt. Earl Smith. “Anytime we talk about extra manpower, that adds up in a heartbeat.”Columbus police are still unsure how much money was spent quelling the riots on 13th Avenue in October, but believe the damage done to squad cars during that incident might push its cost total higher than the more recent disturbance.Smith cited overtime, equipment costs, the cost of food and refreshments for officers and patrol cars as the major expenses for the police department in potentially dangerous situations like the one that took place during the early morning of Nov. 28.The Columbus Division of Police was forced to staff several hundred more officers than usual that night in order to maintain a presence around the campus.Instead of pulling officers from other areas of the city, the police department simply added more police officers to the shift. The extra work meant most of the officers received overtime pay, ranging anywhere from time-and-a-half to double their regular salary.However, as the conflicts progressed during the aftermath of the OSU-Michigan game, even those extra officers were not enough. Eventually, the police department did call for backup, a move which left other parts of the city without adequate protection.”We had to pull cars from other neighborhoods to augment the officers that were already on the scene.” Smith said. “People go nuts when we pull cruisers away, and you can’t really blame them. They expect to have cruiser coverage.”According to Smith, when cruisers are called away from their normal patrol areas, non-emergency calls immediately feel the pinch. Without cruisers available, callers are often forced to wait long periods of time before an officer is sent to help them.”It’s probably not a good time to get locked out of your house when we have a riot on our hands. You’ll be waiting outside for a while.” Smith said. “Of course, we’ll still send a unit out if there is an emergency.”Spending $80,000 providing security to the OSU campus area is nothing new for Columbus police. Smith said even the worst riots don’t demand the same amount of manpower and funds that is necessary to keep the yearly African American Heritage Festival safe and orderly.According to Smith, last year’s Heritage Festival cost the police department over $423,000, with the vast majority coming from overtime pay to officers.”The sheer size of the Heritage Festival poses much more of a problem. It stretches as far west as almost Arlington and east into another police zone. We only have to deal with a few hundred people at these campus parties, but the Heritage Festival draws approximately 30,000 people. Also, that is a three day event that’s running almost 24 hours each day. It’s a totally different situation.” Smith said.