Los Angeles police and other public safety officials ran a drill Friday that simulated the type of simultaneous and multiple terror attacks that took place in Paris, with Mayor Eric Garcetti saying the results showed local agencies have the ability to respond if such attacks happened in Los Angeles.
Garcetti said local public safety agencies are preparing for the possibility that “in this new world, it may not just be one shooting incident in one place, but multiple incidents in multiple places simultaneously.”
“How quickly can we muster, how quickly can we be ready and how strongly can we respond?” he said during an Elysian Park news conference held a few minutes after the drill ended.
He said the performance of the LAPD SWAT and other officers, along with members of the California Highway Patrol, the Sheriff’s Department and the Los Angeles Fire Department during the drill was “nothing short of exemplary.”
While he hopes there would never be an attack in Los Angeles, he said he wants to “send a clear message to anybody who would wreak havoc on our region that we are prepared to respond swiftly.”
“I’m confident that we are ready to respond with speed, with coordination and with professionalism,” he said. “And we’re here to assist whatever brother and sister agencies need us, just as we were called to do in San Bernardino, just as we were called to by LAUSD just a few days ago.”
Garcetti said the public to “remain vigilant” by reporting what they see through the Iwatchla.com app or other avenues, but also urged that “it’s important in these times not lose our heads” or “to lose our values.”
Residents should “also stay inclusive and … reach out, in light of recent events, to make sure that calls to action don’t result in overreach for any of our communities.”
One way to make the world safer is to embrace diversity, he said, noting that security “is built on the strength of our relationships and our understanding with all peoples.”
— City News Service