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NYPD on Lookout for TV Outlet Takeovers
Police takeover of NYC to include staffed checkpoints, heavily armed units, military flight patrols, etc. Excerpts follow.
Today: March 19, 2003 at 19:41:11 PST
NYPD on Lookout for TV Outlet Takeovers
By MICHAEL WEISSENSTEIN
ASSOCIATED PRESS
NEW YORK (AP) -
Police prowled New York with bomb dogs, submachine guns and radiation detectors Wednesday as the United States launched war against Iraq, leaving law enforcement officials concerned about suicide bombers and armed takeovers of television stations.
Black-helmeted tactical officers stood guard around the clock on Wall Street. Trained hounds and German shepherds sniffed trucks entering the area.
Police with radiation detectors scanned vehicles entering Manhattan and parking lots. Officers were given kits with respirator masks, first-aid supplies, rubber gloves and other equipment to help handle chemical or biological attacks....
...The department also stepped up security outside major television news outlets in Manhattan to prevent possible takeovers by terrorists who may want to broadcast anti-American messages.....
...Under a sweeping plan called Operation Atlas, the 36,500-officer police department, the nation's largest, was dispatching hundreds of officers to locations considered susceptible to suicide bombers or other attacks - places of worship, landmarks, tourist attractions, Wall Street and train stations among them. Other officers staffed checkpoints at bridges and tunnels in Manhattan and elsewhere.
The NYPD is paying close attention to ferry boats and subways, where officers have been running drills to converge on train cars and platforms at the first sign of trouble.
Terrorists have twice used explosives-laden boats to target ships, first attacking the USS Cole in 2000 and then a French oil tanker off Yemen last year.
Operation Atlas, which could cost more than $5 million a week, is "the most comprehensive terror prevention program our city has implemented," Mayor Michael Bloomberg said.
The department was deploying heavily armed units known as Hercules teams to visit potential targets such as Times Square to disrupt terrorist reconnaissance. Separate units have been trained to detect and contain biological and chemical hazards.
Bloomberg said the plan would include the resumption of military flight patrols above the city. The Federal Aviation Administration also has put tighter restrictions on airspace in a 30-mile radius around John F. Kennedy International Airport.
Operation Atlas also calls for police commanders in each of the five boroughs to develop plans so they can operate as independent departments if police headquarters in Manhattan were disabled....
---
Associated Press Writer Tom Hays contributed to this story.
---
On the Net:
New York Police Department: http://www.nyc.gov/html/nypd/home.html
NYPD on Lookout for TV Outlet Takeovers
By MICHAEL WEISSENSTEIN
ASSOCIATED PRESS
NEW YORK (AP) -
Police prowled New York with bomb dogs, submachine guns and radiation detectors Wednesday as the United States launched war against Iraq, leaving law enforcement officials concerned about suicide bombers and armed takeovers of television stations.
Black-helmeted tactical officers stood guard around the clock on Wall Street. Trained hounds and German shepherds sniffed trucks entering the area.
Police with radiation detectors scanned vehicles entering Manhattan and parking lots. Officers were given kits with respirator masks, first-aid supplies, rubber gloves and other equipment to help handle chemical or biological attacks....
...The department also stepped up security outside major television news outlets in Manhattan to prevent possible takeovers by terrorists who may want to broadcast anti-American messages.....
...Under a sweeping plan called Operation Atlas, the 36,500-officer police department, the nation's largest, was dispatching hundreds of officers to locations considered susceptible to suicide bombers or other attacks - places of worship, landmarks, tourist attractions, Wall Street and train stations among them. Other officers staffed checkpoints at bridges and tunnels in Manhattan and elsewhere.
The NYPD is paying close attention to ferry boats and subways, where officers have been running drills to converge on train cars and platforms at the first sign of trouble.
Terrorists have twice used explosives-laden boats to target ships, first attacking the USS Cole in 2000 and then a French oil tanker off Yemen last year.
Operation Atlas, which could cost more than $5 million a week, is "the most comprehensive terror prevention program our city has implemented," Mayor Michael Bloomberg said.
The department was deploying heavily armed units known as Hercules teams to visit potential targets such as Times Square to disrupt terrorist reconnaissance. Separate units have been trained to detect and contain biological and chemical hazards.
Bloomberg said the plan would include the resumption of military flight patrols above the city. The Federal Aviation Administration also has put tighter restrictions on airspace in a 30-mile radius around John F. Kennedy International Airport.
Operation Atlas also calls for police commanders in each of the five boroughs to develop plans so they can operate as independent departments if police headquarters in Manhattan were disabled....
---
Associated Press Writer Tom Hays contributed to this story.
---
On the Net:
New York Police Department: http://www.nyc.gov/html/nypd/home.html
For more information:
http://www.lasvegassun.com/sunbin/stories/...
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