Police Will Beef Up Raider Game Force : Violence: Officers will monitor alcohol sales and screen fans entering Coliseum for drunkenness.

As part of a crackdown on violence at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, Los Angeles police will monitor alcohol sales and will screen fans entering the stadium to keep out drunks, officials said Friday.

There will also be a significant increase in the number of officers deployed at the Coliseum for this Sunday’s Raiders’ football game, said Deputy Police Chief William Rathburn.

Rathburn said the additional police will be deployed both inside the stadium and outside, where they will be especially vigilant during tailgate parties. Many problems in the stadium arise from fans who have already been drinking during the pregame parking lot festivities, said Rathburn.

Officers will move quickly to arrest fans causing disturbances during the game, he said. In the past, they have simply been ejected from the stadium. Last Sunday, 50 disorderly people were shown the gate.

The police action comes after a Pittsburgh Steelers’ fan from Tucson was severely beaten during last Sunday’s football game. Paul Albrecht, 35, was reported in serious condition Friday at County-USC Medical Center.

“It is important for every fan to realize that when they buy a ticket to a sporting event in Los Angeles, they are not getting a license to violate the law,” Rathburn said. “If someone is involved in a fight, they will go to jail for fighting. If they throw beer around, they will go to jail.”

Police will establish a mobile booking unit and jail facility in vans outside the stadium, Rathburn said. The units are commonly used during anti-gang sweeps and at drunk-driving checkpoints.

A host of city and county officials, including City Councilman Zev Yaroslavsky, Dist. Atty. Ira Reiner, City Atty. James K. Hahn and all five members of the county Board of Supervisors have condemned the beating and called for increased security at the Coliseum.

Yaroslavsky has gone a step further, however, calling for a ban on all beer sales at the games.

Yaroslavsky said Friday the stepped-up measures proposed by police were inadequate. Instead, Yaroslavsky suggested a one-day pilot program barring beer sales during the Oct. 14 Raiders’ game.

“I am convinced that unless there is a ban on liquor at the Coliseum, the volatile situation, the unsavory crowd and the unsafe situation will persist,” the councilman said.

At a press conference with Rathburn and Hahn, Matthew Grossman, president of the Coliseum Commission, said he would not rule out a ban on alcohol sales.

Rathburn said he hopes an increased police presence will be enough. “Hopefully, a Raider fan will see an officer everywhere he looks,” Rathburn said.

In addition, LAPD officers and agents of the state Alcoholic Beverage Control Department will monitor concession stands to ensure liquor is not sold to already intoxicated people, Rathburn said.