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2006
Press/News Releases |
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First Day Of MBTA Transit
Police Bag Inspections Goes
Smoothly |
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Story by Mac Daniel,
Globe Staff
| October 11, 2006 |
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A new era for T passengers
started at 7:00 a.m. sharp
yesterday at the Anderson
RTC commuter rail station in
Woburn, when the bags of
every 11th passenger to walk
through the doors were
tested for explosives.
The random searches by MBTA
Transit Police
went smoothly in
the first 90 minutes, apart
from one passenger whose bag
falsely tested positive. A
subsequent search found
nothing, but caused the man
to miss his train and arrive
a half-hour late to work. |
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``I have no problems with
bag searches. I think it's
perfectly reasonable," said
Paul Cianciulli , 40, of
Andover, who said his asthma
medication may have
triggered the false result.
``But they have to be
efficient at it. And they
have to make sure their
equipment is working, and
obviously their equipment is
not working." |
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The search team also
deployed around noon at
Government Center, where no
incidents were reported. |
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Governor Mitt Romney
announced the searches last
week. The T and the New York
subways are the only transit
systems in the country to
have regular, random
screening of passengers'
bags and packages. Romney
did not cite a specific
terrorist threat, but did
mention attacks on transit
targets in Madrid, London,
and Mumbai, India, since
2004 that have killed more
than 400 commuters. |
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Most T commuters interviewed
yesterday morning knew that
the searches, which mirrored
the temporary ones during
the 2004 Democratic National
Convention, were happening
and supported them. Reynard
Wright , 45, of Woburn, his
girlfriend Michelle Avery ,
34, and her son, 2-year-old
Michael Rogers , breezed
through the checkpoint.
Wright commended officials
who did the searches. ``My
only concern is that they
don't do any form of racial
profiling, " he said. |
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MBTA Transit Police will fan
out unannounced on commuter
trains, subways, buses, and
commuter boats, randomly
choose riders, and use a
piece of cloth to swab the
zippers, bottom, or handles
of carry-ons. Officers then
place the swab in a portable
machine that can detect
explosives residue. The
process took less than a
minute per passenger
yesterday. If there is
probable cause, officers
will ask passengers to open
bags and packages.
Passengers who refuse the
search won't be allowed into
the transit system, and any
person refusing to leave
could be arrested. |
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MBTA Transit Police To Resume
Random Bag Inspections |
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On October 5,
2006, Governor Mitt Romney
directed the MBTA to
re-institute regular random bag
inspections on the public
transit system in order to shake
up normal routines and make it
more difficult to plan and carry
out a potential terrorist act.
The MBTA Transit Police
conducted random bag searches
for a limited time before and
during the Democratic National
Convention in 2004. |
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"Terrorism is not
a traditional criminal activity.
We are fighting a war against
people who have as their
objective the overthrow of the
United States government. Given
that kind of threat, we have to
adjust our homeland security
strategies to confront it,"
Romney said. |
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In August, the
U.S. Court of Appeals for the
2nd Circuit in New York upheld a
decision that bag inspections on
the Metropolitan Transportation
Authority do not violate an
individual's Constitutional
rights. Following the London
subway bombings in July of 2005,
New York had instituted a policy
that was based on the MBTA's
random bag inspection program
used during the DNC.
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"This is a
proactive step to enhance
security on the MBTA," said
Transportation Secretary
John Cogliano. "Customers
have the right to expect
that we will do all in our
power to ensure their
safety." |
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The federal
appeals court found that
random bag inspections do
not violate the Fourth
Amendment if they are based
on a "special need" to
conduct inspections without
a warrant and are tailored
to protect the rights of
individual riders.
Accordingly, (1) riders
receive general notice of
the program; (2) inspections
focus on baggage large
enough to carry explosives;
(3) the inspection is of
short duration; (4) the
inspection is conducted in
the open; and (5) persons to
be inspected are selected
via a predetermined cycle
(e.g., one out of every
nine, one out of every
five). |
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The inspections
are conducted using equipment
that examines a "swab" of the
zipper, seams or handle of a bag
to detect any traces of
explosive material. The
technology does not require that
bags be opened, although such a
request can be made if
warranted, and the tests can be
done in a less than one minute,
minimizing impacts on T riders.
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In addition
to the random inspections,
Romney said that the MBTA
Transit Police will be
implementing high-visibility
"impact teams" trained in
anti-terrorism and
behavioral recognition
techniques. These teams will
patrol in tactical uniforms
in order to increase police
visibility and bolster
anti-terrorism efforts. |
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"The MBTA
Transit Police Department
views random security
inspections as a vital
element in our continued
efforts to deter, detect,
and prevent a terrorist
incident on the transit
system," said Transit Police
Chief Joseph Carter.
"Transit Police supervisors
and officers are
particularly trained to
ensure inspections follow
strict protocol and are
conducted respectfully and
expeditiously." |
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MBTA
Transit Police Welcomes Fifteen New
Police Officers |
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On September 12,
2006, the MBTA Transit Police hosted
the academy graduation ceremony of
the MBTA Transit Police 16th
Municipal Police Officers’ Class.
The ceremony took place in the Great
Hall at Faneuil Hall in Boston.
Chief Joseph Carter and Secretary of
Transportation John Cogliano
welcomed the new officers with
opening remarks. The ceremony
commenced with a moment of silence
by MBTA Transit Police Chaplain
Michael McClellan. |
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The MBTA Transit
Police Academy graduated forty-six
new recruits, fifteen becoming MBTA
Transit Police Officers. The other
recruits will join police
departments in the following nine
communities: Ashland, Bedford,
Belmont, Billerica, East
Bridgewater, Lynnfield, Reading,
Revere, Watertown, Wellesley and
Weston. The following are the
recently appointed MBTA Transit
Police Officers: Samuel Abany,
Amanda Barouk, Sarah Benoit, Diana
Cruz, Christopher Dowd, Steven
Guidaboni, Gustavo Kruschewsky,
Ramiro Oliveira Jr., Jessica Otero,
Sean Payne, Joseph Sacco, Lucas
Sayers, Brian Sweger, Ariane
Thibodeau, and Jeanne
VanPatten-Steiger.
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All T
Stops Will Have Security Cameras |
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Story by Emma
Fitzsimmons,
Globe Correspondent
| August 11, 2006 |
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Every subway
station will have security cameras by April
after the MBTA Board of Directors voted
yesterday to install almost 200 new cameras
funded by a $3 million grant from Homeland
Security. ``It's a proven way for us to
improve safety and security," said MBTA
General Manager Daniel A. Grabauskas. The
cameras will be placed at stations on the
Red, Orange, Blue, Green, and Silver lines.
Some 300 cameras already in place at Boston
stations have also monitored safety and
crime, Grabauskas said. A camera captured
the image of a passenger falling onto subway
tracks last year in time for a dispatcher to
radio the conductor to stop the train, he
said. The cameras have also caught vandalism
on tape and have been used to settle
disputes between subway staff and customers. |
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The images will
be monitored from the MBTA Operations
Control Center, the Transit Police
Department, and the Massachusetts Emergency
Management Agency's bunker in Framingham.
The purchase will also convert all of the
T's analog cameras to digital, allowing the
agency to store images for 30 days. The
unanimous vote was an easy one because
someone else was footing the bill, joked
board member Baron Martin. It was a
tumultuous meeting at times as board members
met lively criticism from dozens of riders
protesting a fare increase that could be
voted on as early as next month. |
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The board
also voted unanimously yesterday to buy
$5.7 million in spare parts such as
touch screen displays and fare gates
that will be stored as replacements for
the MBTA's new fare-collection system.
The additional parts bring the Automated
Fare Collection system's price tag to
more than $89 million. The system is
expected to be completed by the end of
the year. ``It's another example of
being prepared for the future,"
Secretary of Transportation John
Cogliano said after the meeting. ``It's
important to have the necessary
equipment to make those repairs."
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Homeland
Security Secretary Michael Chertoff Visits
Boston |
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Story by Mac Daniel,
Globe Staff
| July 8, 2006 |
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Secretary of
Homeland Security Michael Chertoff marked
the one-year anniversary of the London
terrorist bombings by riding the MBTA's
Green Line, touting federal aid to combat
terrorist threats in Boston, but he
cautioned that no one can guarantee
security. ``I would not hesitate, and I
wouldn't hesitate to tell my family, to get
on the subway, here or all over the
country," he said. ``I think that we should
not be bullied out of getting on the train.
We shouldn't give terrorists the idea that
they can scare us off our trains. I have no
hesitation in saying this is a safe mode of
transportation. On the other hand, we do
live with a certain amount of risk in life.
. . . But our job is to reduce the risk as
much as possible, and that's what we're
doing." |
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Boston has
received $11 million in federal transit
security grants this year alone, the fourth
largest recipient in the nation, behind New
York City; Washington, D.C.; and Chicago.
The Massachusetts Bay Transportation
Authority is the nation's fourth largest
public transit system, in terms of daily
ridership. Since 2003, the Department of
Homeland Security has awarded the MBTA and
other local agencies $29.1 million in such
grants, funding closed-circuit television
installation throughout the entire T rail
system, transit police training and
staffing, upgrades in communications, and
even building a working duplicate of the T's
operations control center, in case the
current center is attacked or made
inoperable.
Chertoff was
introduced by MBTA Transit Police Chief
Joseph C. Carter, who said, ``The cause of
security and freedom in America remains an
ongoing effort." |
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Chertoff's visit coincided with news
of the foiling of a terrorist plot
to bomb the transit system linking
New York City and New Jersey.
Chertoff said that the plot was
discovered ``several months ago" and
that the information was acted on
immediately ``to disrupt the
completion of any plot." ``We take
all threats seriously," Chertoff
said during a press conference
outside Government Center Station.
``We don't wait until someone has
lit the fuse to step in and prevent
something from happening. That would
be playing games with people's
lives. |
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Chertoff came to the press
conference after a short ride on the
Green Line from North Station. He
said that he had fond memories of
the T from his days at Harvard
University and Harvard Law School
and that he does not want the threat
of a terrorist attack to keep the
public from riding.
In Boston to attend a
Coast Guard ceremony, Chertoff also
used the visit to mark the one-year
anniversary of the London transit
bombings that killed 52 people and
injured hundreds. ``It is a sad
anniversary," he said. ``A year ago
in London, there was a terrible
terrorist attack carried out, which
cost the lives of over 50 people." |
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``And
it's a reminder to us, just as 9/11
was a reminder to us, that
terrorists will attack anywhere,
they will use any method of
transportation, and they continue to
wage war against free people all
over the world, including the people
of the United States," Chertoff
said. MBTA Transit Police used the
anniversary to hand out pamphlets
about their ``See Something, Say
Something" safety awareness
campaign, which reminds transit
riders to report suspicious
packages. ``The subways are safe,"
Chertoff said . ``You've got great
police officers here, and we've got
great partnerships with them, and
we're going to continue to work to
make sure that we prevent and
disrupt any kind of terrorist
activity, whether it's underground
or crossing Boston Harbor or flying
up in the air." In fiscal 2006,
Boston received $9.6 million for
rail security, accounting for 9
percent of the total nationwide mass
transit security funds issued this
year. |
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Transit Police
Ask Commuters To Be Alert |
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Story by Patriot
Ledger Staff
| July 7, 2006 |
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On July 7, 2006, one year after the
terrorist bombings on the London Underground,
uniformed Transit Police Officers handed out
pamphlets urging commuters to report any suspicious
activity they see. ‘‘Our commuters go through the
same stations everyday and they can recognize what
changes and who changes,’’ TPSA 3 Lieutenant
Commander Joseph O’Connor said, as he greeted
commuters at Quincy Adams Station. ‘‘It’s a simple
message, something people can grasp on. If you see
something, say something.’’ The pamphlets give
readers tips on recognizing suspicious packages and
people and how to prepare for emergency situations.
The awareness program is taking place at most major
stations, including Quincy Center. |
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For commuters still anxious after attacks
in the last few years, the program comes as a relief.
‘‘I feel safer,’’ said Jeanette Etro, 23, of Marshfield,
a clinical lab scientist taking the Red Line to
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. A daily commuter,
she said she would ‘‘definitely’’ report anything
suspicious. Etro saw the ‘‘see something, say
something’’ campaign in action last Friday, when South
Station was temporarily shut down to inspect a
suspicious package. ‘‘It was aggravating that the
station was closed, but it makes you realize that the
whole thing works, that people are aware,’’ Etro said. |
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Transit
Police & State Police Train The British Transport Police In
London |
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On June 2, 2006, Transit Police Sergeant
Detective Lewis Best and Massachusetts State Police Sergeant
Peter DiDomenica and Trooper Jim Savage traveled to London,
England and worked for two weeks with the British Transport
Police, teaching their officers a course to identify
terrorists. The Behavior Assessment Screening System (BASS)
is a highly specialized training course to spot behaviors of
would-be terrorists planning or executing an attack and
officers learn how to take action to mitigate danger,
including confronting a suicide bomber.
The BASS course integrates behavioral
analysis and law enforcement training to help police
officers recognize terrorist activity. The course explains
how to conduct brief, non-threatening interviews with a
subject to determine if the individual is high risk, and
covers appropriate risk mitigation action. |
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The Bass Program was developed by
Protecting the Homeland Innovations, LLC, (www.PHI-LLC.net)
after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. To
date, more than 2,000 police and security officials from
more than fifty agencies, including the MBTA Transit
Police, Washington Metro Transit Police, TSA, US Capital
Police, FBI and various Airport Police agencies have
taken the course.
B.A.S.S. was the prototype for the
development of the Screening of Passengers by
Observation Techniques (SPOT) program being used by the
Transportation Security Administration (TSA) at three
airports and poised for nationwide use.
The British Transport Police is a
national police force and has 3,500 sworn police
officers with over six hundred dedicated to the London
Underground. Representatives from the Metropolitan
Police Force also observed the training program. The
Metropolitan Police Force is the second largest police
force in the world with over 30,000 sworn police
officers. |
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Farewell: Longtime T Cop Retires |
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Story by Boston
Herald, Laurel J. Sweet
| June 1, 2006 |
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Transit Police were talking Rags’ time
yesterday as the cop to serve the longest in the
department’s history hung up his holster after 35 years.
“I have no
regrets at all,” said Detective Emilio “The Rag Man” Ragucci,
70, of Medford, a prosecutor in the Court Case Management
Unit. “My wife said, ‘You don’t have any hobbies. What are
you going to do?’ I said, ‘I’ll learn.’ ” Ragucci, who
immigrated here from Italy at age 14, is versed in trials by
fire. His first night on the force in January 1971, the
then-truck driver by trade was handed Badge No. 22 and a
Smith and Wesson six-shooter and ordered to patrol dicey
Dudley Station in Roxbury. The problem? He’d never held a
gun in his life. Three months would pass before he actually
was trained in police work. Three years later, Ragucci made
Detective. He also patrolled the city astride a motorcycle
for two decades.
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“He is an extraordinary public servant and in this
business half of the people win and half of the people
lose. I don’t have enough good words to
say about him,” Boston Municipal Court Clerk-Magistrate
Daniel Hogan said. “He’s really the epitome of what a
police officer. On a recent trip to California, Lt. Sal
Venturelli stopped by the Los Angeles Police Department
to catch up on old times with former T chief Bill
Bratton. “His first question to me was, ‘How’s Rags
doing?’ Here’s a guy who has achieved practically every
pinnacle in law enforcement and he’s asking about Rags,”
Venturelli said. “Rags has that effect on people.”
Ragucci and his bride of 42 years, Ann, a bathing beauty
he met on Revere Beach, have three children and nine
grandchildren. The newly minted civilian, who has
survived 10 chiefs, is looking forward to keeping an eye
on them. “I have a son who’s a doctor,” Ragucci said,
beaming with pride. “I worked a lot of details for that
one.”
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Gunfire
Erupts In Chinatown |
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On April 18, 2006, at 11:26 a.m., MBTA Transit
Police and Boston Police fired shots on Washington Street
outside the Registry of Motor Vehicles Office and the MBTA
Chinatown Station. A suspect, who was operating a stolen
vehicle, drove in the wrong direction on Washington Street and
over a busy sidewalk, smashing cars along the way and collided
with an unmarked State Police cruiser and an unmarked MBTA
Transit Police cruiser, injuring four officers. A Transit
Police Detective and a Boston Police Officer discharged their
weapons and the suspect was shot and taken into custody. The
suspect was transported to the Massachusetts General Hospital
where his condition was listed as ‘good’. The Officers were
transported to New England Medical Center, where they were
treated and released. |
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Bus Stop
Shootout |
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On April 18, 2006
at 6:21 p.m., an MBTA Transit Police Officer was on patrol at Dudley
Station during the afternoon rush hour, where he encountered a
disturbance between two males. As the Transit Police
Officer approached the individuals, he developed probable cause to
believe that one of the subjects was carrying a gun. The
suspect immediately ran away from the Officer. As the Transit
Police Officer followed him, the subject suddenly pointed a firearm
at the Officer and shot at him twice. The Transit Police
Officer then returned fire striking the victim who fled the area.
Following a foot pursuit, and a description of the suspect
broadcasted to responding Transit Police and Boston Police units,
the subject was located with a gunshot wound to the leg on Madison
Park Court in Roxbury. |
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The suspect,
who was released from State Prison custody in September
2005, was arrested by MBTA Transit Police and charged with
Assault with Intent to Murder, Assault By Means of a Dangerous
Weapon (Gun), Unlawful possession of a Firearm and Ammunition,
Being an Armed Career Criminal and a Habitual Offender. The
Transit Police Officer was treated at Boston Medical Center and
released. Following arraignment the subject is being held on
$200,000.00 cash bail. |
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Nova
Scotia Man Murders Two In Maine, Kills Self On Bus In Boston |
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On April 16, 2006, at 7:54 p.m., the MBTA
Transit Police were contacted by the Maine State Police, who
advised that a suspect who was wanted in connection with two
homicides, was possibly en route to the MBTA South Station
in Boston from Bangor, Maine. The Maine State Police
advised that the suspect, had shot and killed two registered
sex offenders earlier that day. MBTA Transit Police
intercepted the bus outside South Station and the suspect
used one of three handguns he was carrying to shoot himself
fatally in the head. |
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Upon hearing the gunshot Transit Police
Officers immediately boarded the bus and found the
suspect dead from an apparent self inflicted gunshot
wound. Maine State Police further advised that the
suspect had checked thirty-four sex offenders on the
State of Maine Sex Offender Registry and he had shot and
killed two of those individuals. The Maine State Police
had shut down the sex offender registry website
following the two homicides. The site is now back
online. |
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A First
Hand Lesson In Fighting Terror |
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Story by Boston
Globe, Matthew Kalman
| March 24, 2006 |
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Photo by David
Blumenfeld |
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JERUSALEM -- When MBTA Transit Police Deputy Chief
Paul MacMillan, saw roadblocks and heard wailing sirens as his
convoy entered the headquarters of the Israeli Border Police on
Tuesday, it seemed that a planned emergency drill had begun a day
early. But this was no exercise.
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MacMillan and 130 other senior US security officials attending a
counterterrorism conference in Jerusalem found themselves caught up
in an unfolding manhunt for a suspected Palestinian suicide bomber.
An hour later, after a dramatic helicopter and motorcycle chase
through police roadblocks on the main Jerusalem-Tel Aviv highway,
Israeli police told the Americans that the would-be bomber had been
captured, with 15 pounds of explosives packed with nails and
shrapnel. |
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The blow-by-blow account of the operation provided a real-time
introduction to Israeli security pressures for the participants in
the four-day conference, designed to encourage information sharing
and expertise between Israeli and US counterterrorism officials. The
gathering boasted the largest group of US law enforcement, emergency
services, and homeland security officials ever to assemble in
Israel. |
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Other Bay State officials in attendance included Kenneth Kaiser,
special agent in charge of the FBI's Boston office, and Albert
Sherman, vice chancellor of University of Massachusetts Medical
School. The largest delegation came from California, including Los
Angeles Police Chief William J. Bratton, the former police
commissioner in Boston, and Joanne M. Hayes-White, Chief of the San
Francisco Fire Department. MacMillan said the episode in Jerusalem
illustrated how much his job had changed since the Sept. 11 attacks.
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''If you told me when I started my career that I would be in Israel
learning about emergency preparedness for a terrorist attack, I
would have said: 'What are you talking about?' We could never have
imagined at the beginning of our police careers that we would be
involved in such a situation," he said. |
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But as a Deputy
Chief for the fourth-largest transit system in the United States,
transporting 1.3 million passengers each day, MacMillan said his
responsibility now goes well beyond the traditional problems of
robberies and assaults.
''To say that Boston is a specific target, that's not an accurate
statement. But they've hit two transit systems, in Madrid and
London, and the general intelligence and logic would follow that
they're eventually going to try and hit a transit system in the
United States. . . . We certainly should prepare for it," he said. |
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The
conference, hosted by the Israeli Foreign Ministry and Police,
included intelligence briefings, counterterrorism drills, medical
exercises, and lectures from security, police, and emergency
services officials. |
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The participants toured police surveillance facilities in
Jerusalem's Old City, visited a suicide-bomber exhibition at police
headquarters, and observed a simulated biochemical attack on a
school, followed by emergency treatment of the victims at the Assaf
Harofeh Medical Center. |
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At
Ben-Gurion Airport and the control center for Israel Railways, the
officials saw state of the art CCTV facilities with ''behavioral
video" -- computer software that triggers an alarm when an unusual
incident appears on the monitor. |
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MacMillan
said the MBTA had been studying the installation of behavioral video
and, after seeing the Israeli system in action, he would recommend
it back home -- one of several tangible results of the trip. He also
said he would recommend cooperation with Israeli police
in training Boston's bomb-disposal personnel.
Also under consideration is a training course in Massachusetts run
by the Israeli police. |
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Following an earlier visit to Israel by Robert Smith, head of
counterintelligence at the State Police, the Massachusetts command
staff already has been through two courses run by senior officials
from the Israeli security services. |
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Assistance has
also run in the opposite direction. Sherman, and Dr. Richard
Aghababian, chairman of emergency medicine at the University of
Massachusetts Medical School, have advised
Israeli hospitals on developing emergency medical departments.
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After watching a
drill simulating an emergency room receiving victims of a large
bio-chemical attack on Wednesday, Sherman said the Israelis had come
a long way.
''I'm here to observe and learn and bring back to the
Department of Public Health how the Israelis, who are regrettably
the experts, do it differently to how we do it. In some cases it's
better," said Sherman, who also serves on the Public Health Council,
which sets public health policy for Massachusetts. He said the
Americans were impressed by what they saw. ''A smart man knows what
he doesn't know. These people came to learn. There isn't a single
person I've spoken to who doesn't have lots to bring back to their
hometown," he said. |
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White, San
Francisco's fire chief, said she found the conference ''truly
impressive."
''Our whole world changed after 9/11. It is something
that we plan for now, but we have very little expertise in it. To
come to a place like this, really you're learning from the true
experts," she said. |
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Conference participants debated the tension between counterterrorist
measures and maintaining democracy, a concern that arose when
security officials at Ben-Gurion explained that they were allowed to
stop any car whose passengers appeared ''suspicious."
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''It's a different mindset here. We're not allowed to do that. We
have to have a specific plan in place on how we're going to do the
stops," MacMillan said. ''It's a balancing act. We have a free and
open society. If we want a dictatorship, we can lock down the
country and not let anybody in and have government IDs and have
everybody checked, but we're not going to live like that," MacMillan
said. |
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T Riders
Reminded To Watch For Threats |
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Story by Boston
Herald, Thomas Caywood.
| March 21, 2006 |
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Think of it as the transit version of a preflight safety
briefing. On March 21, 2006, hundreds of MBTA Transit Police and workers
were out on the system handing out security pamphlets and reminding riders
to report suspicious people and unattended bags and packages. It’s the
kind of security awareness operation that usually happens in the wake of a
terrorist bombing overseas or when the terror alert level is raised.
But General Manager Daniel Grabauskas, fearing complacency may be setting in
among riders, said he wants to re-energize the T’s “See something, Say
something” program. Every single time before a flight takes off, they
give you a safety talk about where the emergency exits are and all that,”
Grabauskas said. “We don’t want to wait for something to happen that causes
us to react. We want to be proactive.” Public address system
announcements have been encouraging riders to report suspicious activity and
packages since just before the Democratic National Convention in July 2004.
Passengers made 427 calls to report suspicious behavior last year and 293
calls to report unattended bags or parcels, according to Transit Police
figures. “We just want keep
a sense of vigilance among our passengers,” Grabauskas said. “They are a key
component of the safety and security of our system. They are out there with
their eyes and ears seeing and hearing things.” |
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MBTA General Manager Daniel
Grabauskas and MBTA
Transit Police Chief Joseph C. Carter pass
out flyers at Park Street Station. |
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See
Something? Say Something. |
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To view flyer please
click here. |
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Boston
Billboard Used In The Fight Against Gun Trafficking |
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On Thursday, March 2, 2006, Mayor Thomas Menino, Boston
Police Commissioner Kathleen O’Toole, Suffolk County District Attorney
Daniel Conley, MBTA Transit Police and STOP Handgun Violence held a press
conference and unveiled Boston’s newest initiative in the fight to combat
illegal gun trafficking. Stop Handgun Violence is a non-profit organization
committed to the prevention of gun violence through education, public
awareness, effective law enforcement and common sense gun laws. |
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The Message “STOP TRAFFIC: Background Checks Stop Crime”
is now displayed on America’s largest billboard, a 252-foot long sign along
the Massachusetts Turnpike next to Fenway Park. This billboard is being
used to spread the message that most US states still allow gun purchases
without criminal background checks. This contributes greatly to gun
trafficking and crime in Massachusetts. More than 250,000 people will see
this new message every day. |
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Like Father, Like
Daughter -- And Now Like Son |
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By Brian MacQuarrie, Globe Staff | February 25, 2006
Globe
Staff Photo / David L. Ryan |
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On February 24, 2006, Christopher McCarron, 23, stood erect and motionless
in venerable Faneuil Hall, his face locked in stern,
straight-ahead focus as two pairs of sure hands pinned an MBTA Transit
Police badge to his blue shirt. McCarron, a former Marine, endured the
maneuver without flinching until, when finally pinned, he flashed a broad,
incandescent smile as he accepted hugs, handshakes, and congratulations from
a family that knows this tradition well. The two pairs of hands belonged to
his father, Peter, and sister, Shannon, and they both wore the uniform that
the younger McCarron carried proudly at graduation ceremonies for the
Municipal Police Officers Academy. With Christopher newly inducted into the
force, the McCarrons became the first family ever to have three members in
the Transit Police at once. ''I fear for my life," Diane McCarron,
Christopher's mother, said with a laugh after the event. |
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McCarron was one of 45 new officers, including several veterans of Iraq and
Afghanistan, who left Faneuil Hall to launch law-enforcement careers with
the MBTA Transit Police and other municipal and university police forces.
The MBTA Transit Police Academy graduates also were dispatched to
departments in Quincy, North Attleborough, and Harvard University, among
other jurisdictions. But the McCarrons appear to form a
mini-department all by themselves. In addition to working for the same
236-member police force, the three live together in the same home in
Mansfield. It's a place where Peter McCarron, a 23-year veteran of the MBTA
Transit Police, came home each day to regale his two, wide-eyed children
with tales of another day of law-enforcement work. ''The only thing
I've ever known is I want to be a cop," said Christopher, who begins work
Monday. ''It's pretty much been a given since we were young kids."
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Shannon McCarron, 27, who graduated from the academy in June, said her
father's good humor and commitment to the job made following his tracks an
easy decision. Her brother, who was president of the academy class,
echoed that thought. ''In my eyes, he did no wrong, and I thought I could do
no wrong if I followed him," Christopher said. ''I have tough shoes to fill,
I tell you." Besides, Shannon said, the family's roots in Dorchester
made the MBTA a familiar and attractive option. ''We're city-grown kids,"
she said. ''The city is what we know and love." |
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Peter McCarron, 47, who spent the last 12 years working undercover on a drug
task force at Logan International Airport, shakes his head when asked about
the family's police tradition. ''It's not something we discussed at night at
the dinner table," said Peter, who now is assigned to the Transit Police
Motorcycle Unit. ''It just happened." But, obviously, something is in
the water. Peter's father was a Boston Police Sergeant; an uncle of the
children recently retired from the Transit Police; and one of their cousins
is on the Brockton force. |
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Faced with the prospect of three family members working for the same
employer, Shannon shook her head and chuckled. ''As long as we work
different shifts, we'll be all right," she said. That sense of
professional intimacy was an important part of the message delivered to the
new officers. ''All your lives, you've been part of your family; now you're
part of ours," said Sergeant Jeremiah J. Collins III of the Transit Police.
And with that family membership comes responsibility, he said. The
graduates. Collins emphasized, now can say: ''Today, I stand for something."
And standing for something goes with the McCarron name, said MBTA Deputy
Chief John Martino, who praised the work of both father and daughter. ''I'm
expecting we'll get just as much out of the newest McCarron," Martino said. |
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To his children, Peter McCarron is a professional and family role model. But
when told that his son, the newest police officer in the family, looks up to
him, McCarron deflected the praise. ''He doesn't," McCarron said.
''He's taller than me." |
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Spit, Blood Fly
During Hub Arrest |
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Story by Boston
Herald, Thomas Caywood. |
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On January 9, 2006, in
the latest incident of brazen junkies invading the area around Boston
Common, a hostile woman claiming to be HIV-positive spat at and flung blood
toward transit cops who busted her and a male companion for smoking crack in
a Tremont Street doorway, police said. Shocked citizens who said they
saw the pair huddled over a glass crack pipe yesterday morning grabbed a
passing MBTA Transit Cop. The woman, who cut her palms trying to smash
a glass item, raged as responding MBTA Transit Cops took her into custody,
police said. “She got belligerent, yelling at us and saying she was
HIV-positive,” said Lt. Sal Venturelli, who was on his way to Suffolk Law
School to teach a police class. “Her hand was bloody, and she threatened the
officers with blood. She was flinging blood and spitting at us.”
Lauren Vallee, 26, no known address, was arrested on numerous warrants and
charged with assault with a dangerous weapon, assault and battery on a
police officer and possession of a hypodermic syringe. None of the officers
was hit by the blood or spit, Venturelli said, but they’ll be tested for HIV
as a precaution. |
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Photo by Boston Herald Staff,
Mike Adaskaveg. |
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