CITY COPS PREP FOR 'MUMBAI'
http://www.nypost.com/seven/12082008/news/regionalnews/city_cops_prep_for_mumbai_143196.htm MACHINE-GUN TRAINING By LARRY CELONA and ANDY GELLER FIREPOWER: New recruits and many experienced officers are being FIREPOWER: New recruits and many experienced officers are being trained to handle the M4 machine gun to guard against Mumbai-style attacks. Last updated: 10:12 am December 8, 2008 Posted: 2:21 am December 8, 2008 In the aftermath of the deadly Mumbai terror attacks, Police Commissioner Ray Kelly has come out with guns blazing - with a plan to get all 1,000 rookie cops ready to use heavy artillery in time for New Year's Eve, The Post has learned. Alleged Mastermind of Mumbai Attacks Arrested PHOTOS: NYPD Practices Fighting Terrorism In Brooklyn The NYPD wants all 1,000 Police Academy recruits trained to use M4 automatic machine guns - which are now carried only by the 400 cops in its elite Emergency Service Unit - in time for the holiday celebration in Times Square. The recruits currently at the academy will get three days of training to familiarize them with the weapon, police said. The department also plans to train its 2,000 officers in the Organized Crime Control Bureau. They include narcotics, vice, gang- and auto-crime cops. That means five times as many cops will be able to use these powerful weapons as now. "In the event of multiple terrorist attacks, these other units will be deployed to supplement Emergency Services," said NYPD spokesman Paul Browne. Kelly had proposed training other cops in the use of the weapon, a compact version of the M16 combat assault rifle used by the military, during previous "tabletop exercises" that dealt with responding to multiple terrorist attacks, Browne said. The final decision to undertake the training was made after the three-day Mumbai, India, assault, which began Nov. 26. In the carnage in the city formerly known as Bombay, 10 terrorists carrying automatic rifles and grenades attacked a railway station, a market, a restaurant popular with foreigners, two luxury hotels and a Jewish center. At least 195 people were killed and 295 wounded. The dead included 18 foreigners, among them six Americans. Police sources said NYPD brass decided to train the members of the current academy class because they are all in one place and it is easier than bringing them back for instruction once they are in the field. The recruits' three-day training is being called "familiarization" because it is shorter than the two weeks Emergency Service officers receive on such weapons. However, those cops also get training in other heavy weapons during that time. The recruits' instruction will be carried out at the police range at Rodman's Neck in The Bronx. There is no intelligence Times Square will be a target on New Year's Eve. The area will be on high alert, but has been so for every year since the millennium. <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]>[EMAIL PROTECTED] --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ Please note that I do not send or open attachments sent to this list. You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Catholics on Fire" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/Catholics-on-Fire May the blessing of Jesus and our Blessed Mother be with you -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
