NYPD Expands Active Shooter Training In Wake Of Paris Terror Attacks
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) -- In the wake of the Paris terror attacks last week, the NYPD has been quietly expanding training for "active shooter" situations in which terrorists arm themselves with high-powered rifles and open fire.
NYPD Commissioner Bill Bratton said the new training is based in part on lessons brought back from an NYPD team that was sent to Paris and given widespread access to the scene of the shootings.
He said more officers will be trained like the NYPD's elite Emergency Services Unit, which responds to the most dangerous situations, from shootings to terror attacks.
There will be "more officers trained like our emergency services officers to respond with better weaponry, better tactics and training, and we'll be also be expanding our active shooter training," Bratton said.
"I think you're gonna see more armed officers like you see at Penn Station, like you see at Grand Central. You're gonna see more of that, especially around soft targets," terrorism expert Bob Strang told WCBS 880's Jim Smith.
NYPD Expands Active Shooter Training In Wake Of Paris Terror Attacks
Some members of the NYPD went to Paris earlier this week for the funeral of three police officers murdered during the terror spree last week.
The officers were also granted full access to the scene of the shootings at the magazine Charlie Hebdo to study the attack and the French police response.
"We'll be issuing, very shortly, guidelines to every officer to carry in their memo books on how to deal with active shooters," Bratton said.
This week, massive raids were seen throughout Europe after intelligence revealed as many as 20 sleeper cells. In Belgium, officials said preparations were in the works for attacks on a grand scale that could have happened within hours.
Since the attacks, the NYPD has also stepped up security across the city, not just putting officers at the French consulate, but also around transit hubs and synagogues.
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