Police officers from across the country are being mobilized to help Washington manage crowds for Barack Obama’s inauguration, but the NYPD, the biggest and one of the closest and most experienced, will not be among them.
The reason stems from a misunderstanding seven years ago after the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
The District of Columbia has asked 96 localities to send a total of 4,000 officers to help with crowd control along the parade route on Jan. 20, when it expects more than 1.5 million people in the nation’s capital. Those officers will augment the district’s Metropolitan Police Department force of about 4,000.
These 8,000 officers are only part of a 60-agency security force, the largest ever assembled for an inauguration and possibly in the history of the country. In 2005, Washington brought in 3,000 officers from out of town to augment its force of 3,600, and fewer than two dozen security agencies were involved.
While many police departments say they are proud to be sending contingents, for which they will be reimbursed, the New York police were never asked.
The matter is of interest now because some jurisdictions, like Los Angeles County, are sending deputy sheriffs at more expense than would be likely for an equivalent contingent from New York. In addition, New York officers are missing out on a chance to participate in a historic national ceremony.
Traci Hughes, a spokeswoman for the Metropolitan Police Department, said that New York was not asked to send officers this time because the city had not sent any officers to the previous inauguration, in 2005.
“We were working under the assumption that because New York didn’t want to participate in 2005, we presumed they didn’t want to participate this time, when the demands would be greater,” Ms. Hughes said.
But Paul J. Browne, the chief spokesman for the New York Police Department, said the department was not aware of any request in 2005.
He said that in early September 2001, Washington did ask New York to send a contingent to the annual meeting of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, scheduled for the end of the month. The meeting was expected to be a target of anti-globalization protesters, who had made their mark in violent demonstrations during a world trade meeting in Seattle in 1999.
The request from Washington arrived shortly before Sept. 11. At the time, Mr. Browne said, the Police Department was reviewing liability and indemnification issues before agreeing to send any officers. But once the terrorists struck, the whole matter was dropped.
“It just fell through the cracks,” he said.
Since then, Washington has apparently labored under the misimpression that New York was not interested in sending officers to augment the local force. Mr. Browne said that there was no such feeling in New York and that the city had sent contingents to other cities, including more than 300 officers and emergency equipment to New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina in 2005.
“It’s not upsetting as much as it is perplexing, because of our proximity to Washington,” Mr. Browne said.
(Source: NY Times)
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4 Responses
If they dont want NYPD’s help then they wont get it. Is this such a chashuva zach that it bothers NYPD not to be involved? The way I see it, this means there will be better protection here!
Mark (#1), consider this:
You are the Mashgiach of a Yeshiva widely considered to be from the most prestigous in the country. Your students are known far and wide for their intellect and knowledge. They are experts in all aspects of Jewish philosophy, law, etc. Many of your graduates go on to become highly successful Rabbis, Roshei Yeshivos, etc.
One day, Jewish leaders decide to have an international conference to discuss many complex halachic matters pertaining to the Jewish world today. They want the sharpest minds in the Jewish community to come together and solve the issues at hand. They send invitations to top Yeshivos around the globe inviting them to send their elite students to participate in the conference.
Your yeshiva doesn’t get an invitation.
Now, how do you feel?
When a new US president gets innaugerated, it is a very “chashuv zach”. Security is a major priority at an event of this magnitude. They are expecting an enourmous crowd to show up. This particualr president elect presents an even greater than usual security risk. The country wants everyone to be safe. So when a top rated police departmnet like the NYPD doesn’t get invited, they feel slighted.
The Federal government has a huge number of police forces (including the Park Service police and the military). They should not be schnorring help from the cities and states, most of whom are going broke very fast.
It is an honor to be guest. To work at the inaguration is on the lines of someone telling a yeshiva student that he has the “honor to help clean the yeshiva”, particularly on shushan purim. I believe that most federal civil servants who work in DC are encouraged to flee from the invading tourists.
# 3 – Out of town police departments get reimbursed for their services in this type of situation. So the fact that city departments are “going broke” doesn’t really matter with regard to this.
In addition, I don’t agree with your comparison to a yeshiva bochur that has “the honor to help clean his yeshiva”. You might look at it that way. However, police personnel, from the commissioner on down to the rookies, feel a tremendous amount of pride in what they do. The NYPD in particular, whose job it is to protect the city with the greatest terrorism threat in the country, deserve to be recognized for their anti crime and anti terrorism expertise. As such, it is considered a big deal that they weren’t invited.