NYPD PHOTO: Police Commissioner Raymond W. Kelly and Amtrak Chief of Police John J. O’Connor (fourth from left) chair a quarterly meeting of the Northeast Corridor Coalition at Police Headquarters Tuesday, attended by (O’Connor’s right) NYPD Deputy Commissioner for Counterterrorism Richard A. Daddario and NYPD Assistant Chief, Counterterrorism James Waters; and (Commissioner’s left to right) NYPD Chief of Department Joseph J. Esposito, NYPD Deputy Commissioner for Intelligence David Cohen; NYPD Deputy Commissioner, Strategic Initiatives Michael J. Farrell; Amtrak Inspector Martin Conway; NYPD Chief of Transit Raymond Diaz; NYPD Assistant Chief Thomas Purtell and law enforcement officials from 12 regional agencies. The Coalition was established in 2005 to ensure security along the Amtrak rail line between New York and Washington, D.C.

New York City Police Commissioner Raymond W. Kelly told members of the NYPD-Amtrak Northeast Corridor Coalition today that the death this month of Osama Bin Laden required heightened vigilance on the part of law enforcement and renewed recognition of mass transportation systems as targets for terrorism. Commissioner Kelly spoke at a quarterly meeting of the Northeast Corridor Coalition, a consortium of police and transit agencies established in 2005 to enhance security planning and programming along the Amtrak rail line between New York and Washington, D.C. Amtrak Police Department Chief John J. O’Connor co-chaired Tuesday’s meeting.

“The recent death of Osama Bin Laden is a welcome milestone, but one which we know could inspire acts of retaliation. Among the wealth of data recovered from the compound in Pakistan were handwritten notes proposing to derail a train on the tenth anniversary of 9/11, or on another significant date,” Commissioner Kelly said. “We have to be prepared to defend against every type of attack imaginable.”

The meeting follows a five-day Securing the Cities exercise last month in which 153 sources of radiological material were successfully interdicted by officers from 150 participating agencies, from concealed and moving placements in subways, roadways and waterways in and surrounding New York City and elsewhere in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut. Immediately following the news of Bin Laden’s demise May 1, the Department directed all personnel to remain alert for suspicious packages and possible threats to the City’s infrastructure, mass transit and landmarks. Police coverage in the subway system was extended and bolstered with high-visibility critical response vehicles, heavily armed officer teams including K9, and increased bag screenings.

Tuesday’s meeting included updates from NYPD Deputy Commissioner for Intelligence David Cohen, as well as from officials from Amtrak, the Delaware State Police and Delaware Department of Safety and Homeland Security (DHS); Maryland State Police and Maryland Transportation Authority; Metropolitan Police Department and MPD Homeland Security Bureau; New Jersey State Office of Homeland Security and Preparedness, New Jersey State Police and New Jersey Transit; Pennsylvania State Police; the Philadelphia Police Department and PPD Homeland Security Unit; and the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority. NYPD Chief of Department Joseph J. Esposito and Deputy Commissioner for Counterterrorism Richard A. Daddario, along with Deputy Commissioner for Strategic Initiatives Michael J. Farrell, Chief of Transit Raymond Diaz and Assistant Chief, Patrol Borough Manhattan South, Thomas Purtell also attended..

The Northeast Corridor Coalition meets quarterly and as needed to address the transit security environment. Other multi-agency initiatives conducted regionally, usually around high-volume commuting events and holidays, include Operation RAILSAFE (Regional Alliance Including Local, State and Federal Efforts) and MASS (Multi-Agency Super Surge) exercises in major transit hubs. Attendees on Tuesday included:.

Amtrak Deputy Chief Keven Gray
Amtrak Inspector Martin Conway
Amtrak Assistant Chief Lisa Shahade
Amtrak Inspector Neil Trugman
Delaware State Police Major Monroe Hudson
Delaware State Police Intelligence Captain Peter B. Sawyer
Delaware Homeland Security Advisor Kurt Reuther
Joseph O’Hara, Maryland State Police, Maryland Coordination and Analysis Center
Maryland Transportation Authority Chief Marcus Brown
Maryland Transportation Authority Director of Intelligence Erroll Etting
Metropolitan Police Department Assistant Chief Lamar Greene
Metropolitan Police Department Executive Director Thomas Wilkins
New Jersey State Office of Homeland Security and Preparedness Director Charles McKenna
New Jersey State Office of Homeland Security and Preparedness Deputy Director Drew Lieb
New Jersey State Office of Homeland Security and Preparedness Associate Director Gerry McAleer
New Jersey State Police Major Ed Cetnar
New Jersey State Police Deputy Superintendent of Homeland Security Jerome Hatfield
New Jersey Transit Chief Christopher Trucillo
Pennsylvania State Police Captain Andrew Ashmar
Philadelphia Police Department Commissioner Charles H. Ramsey
Philadelphia Police Department Captain Walter Smith
Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority Police Captain Kevin Gaddis
Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority Police Captain Donald Proctor

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