In the wake of a “flash mob” that wreaked havoc at a carnival last month and saw multiple fights, Tinley Park is tapping an outside security firm to bolster its own police presence at an upcoming four-day fest.

Downers Grove-based P4 Security Solutions has been awarded a contract worth $65,610, and the firm will assist in providing security for the village’s Ribfest and downtown block party, according to village manager Pat Carr.

The Armed Forces Weekend Carnival, sponsored by the Tinley Park Chamber of Commerce and held at the 80th Avenue Metra station, saw an invasion May 20 that police said consisted of hundreds of teens who fought among themselves and tangled with police, resulting in one officer needing treatment at a hospital. Five youths were cited under a village ordinance for fighting in public.

The carnival was set to continue May 21, but police said they decided to cancel it after learning another flash mob was being planned on social media.

The hiring of P4 is a response to that, with the firm’s employees, which comprises off-duty police officers, supplementing the village’s own officers, according to Carr.

Tinley Park will “still have a large presence of our officers” working the fest, Carr said.

Ribfest will feature live music, food vendors and children’s carnival and is scheduled from 2 to 10 p.m. July 1 through July 4 in the south parking lot of the 80th Avenue Metra station. The chamber carnival took place in the north lot of the train station.

It’s the first time the village has turned to an outside security firm for a village event, according to Carr. The hiring was approved Tuesday by the Village Board.

“Due to the number and larger size of events we will be holding, we thought it best to use outside security as an additional resource for our public safety team,” he said Wednesday.

The entire south lot of the train station, near the village’s library, will be fenced off to limit access points.

Ribfest culminates with a fireworks display starting at 9:30 p.m. on the Fourth of July, and the village said a large area will be set aside so people can lay out blankets and lawn chairs to watch.

Free parking will be available in the north lot of the 80th Avenue station, and parking will also be available at the downtown Metra station on Oak Park Avenue, with shuttles running to and from the Ribfest, according to the village.

P4 Security also will staff the village’s Block Party July 15 and 16 in and around Zabrocki Plaza, 17375 S. Oak Park Ave.

In an online message to the community in the aftermath of the May carnival, Tinley Park Mayor Michael Glotz said the village would implement tighter controls during big events, including defined event perimeters, bag checks and youth supervision policies.

“It’s a sad reality, but gone are the days when we could hold an open event of this size without these measures in place,” Glotz wrote in his Mayor’s Corner message.

The chaos at the carnival was also partly to blame for the decision by Most Holy Redeemer Church in Evergreen Park to cancel its annual carnival. Security concerns prompted the decision to not hold the 46th annual event, scheduled for June 15-18 at the church.

“The carnival does have a long-standing tradition and is our biggest fundraising event, so the decision was not an easy one,” said Pastor Jim Hyland, who informed parishioners about the decision in a May 24 post at the parish’s Facebook page. “In the end though, concerns about safety won out.”

The church instead, this past Saturday, held a Parking Lot Party, which required a $30 entrance fee and was limited to attendees 21 and older.

Money for Tinley Park’s P4 contract will come from revenue the village has realized from a push tax on video gambling terminals, according to Glotz. The push tax has generated more than $400,000, with the money earmarked for tourism-related expenses and the downtown Harmony Square plaza, Glotz said.

mnolan@tribpub.com