Cop overtime pads bill for S.F. torch run

SAN FRANCISCO, April 18 (UPI) -- City officials say the cost of navigating the Olympic torch through the streets of San Francisco topped three-quarters of a million dollars.

City officials said the expenses for police overtime and other costs associated with the April 9 relay totaled $726,400, but Mayor Gavin Newsome said it was worth it.

"We're a big city and we're going to have world-class events," the mayor said Thursday. "We are going to promote those events, we're going to promote the vibrancy of the city, and that comes at a cost."

The costs escalated at the last minute after the torch became a target of activists protesting China's policies in Tibet. The threat of a disruption forced the city to change the route of the relay and put scores of police and other personnel on the clock.

The San Francisco Chronicle said Friday that the SFPD's overtime tab alone topped $500,000, and those numbers won't be finalized until next week.

The newspaper also said Newsome was working to raise private donations to cover the costs.