Jul 17, 2009 8:51 pm US/Eastern
NYPD Beefs Up Security At Hotels
In Wake Of Jakarta Attacks, City Not Taking Any Chances
NEW YORK (AP) ―
New York Police Department officials, alarmed by the suicide bombings in Indonesia's capital, beefed up patrols outside Manhattan hotels on Friday while encouraging more vigilance by private security.
Within minutes of learning about deadly dual attacks on the Marriott and Ritz-Carlton hotels in Jarkarta, dozens of NYPD patrol cars converged on the city's own marquee hotels. The department also deployed its own investigator, Lt. John Daly, to Jakarta.
Police officials in New York said there were no specific threats against the city. But it has become the NYPD's "standard practice now to take such precautions and to brief security directors in New York of what we learn", Police Commissioner Raymond W. Kelly said in a statement.
Daly spoke Friday on a conference call to security officials from the Waldorf-Astoria, Ritz Carlton and other high-end hotels assembled at an NYPD command center in lower Manhattan.
After touring the blast sites with local authorities, Daly emphasized that it was an inside job: The bombers had stayed at the Marriott for two days before attacking restaurants at both hotels.
The investigator's own photos of the damage were flashed on a giant video screen in the command center. The gathering also was shown a surveillance video of one of the bombers -- wearing a backpack strapped to his chest and pulling a rolling suitcase -- stroll past security guards moments before the blast.
Though the Jakarta hotels had been fortified against car bombs on the outside, the scene suggested "there was a weakness inside," said David Cohen, head of the NYPD's intelligence division.
In the past, the NYPD has advised hotels to train their staffs to be on the lookout for anyone loitering in lobbies or guest floors. They also recommended being suspicious of guests booking unusually long stays -- a sign someone may be using a room as a staging area for conducting extensive surveillance or storing weapons.
The deployment of Daly is part of a program that began after Sept. 11, 2001, in which the nation's largest police department began posting counterterrorism officers in Singapore, Madrid and other large cities to trade information about security and potential threats. The officers also have been dispatched to the scenes of overseas terrorist attacks in Mumbai and elsewhere to speed access to evidence that could help deter strikes against the city.
(© 2010 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
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