Vendredi

Mine Resistant Ambush Protector (MRAP)

Field Crime Lab Briefcase

Inside the EMS Surge Bus

by Shay Sokol

CBD - An EMS Surge Bus, Coast Guard response boats, an FBI Mine Resistant Ambush Protector with wheels bigger than (most) New Orleans’ potholes, a briefcase with bio swabs and every fingerprinting kit imaginable, including “snow print wax,” were all gathered at the Harbor Police Sub-Station along the river behind the Convention Center for one badass display of high-tech toys. Also present: FBI agents from Las Vegas to Oklahoma talking about where to get a cigar and beer after the convention lets out for the day 

The FBI’s Weapon of Mass Destruction (WMD) Directorate, Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Coast Guard, Department of Defense, state and local police departments and industry stakeholders are in town for a weeklong workshop to prepare countermeasures in the event of a WMD scenario in the New Orleans area – whether it be chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear or explosive – and just in time for the Super Bowl.

FBI Assistant Director John Perren said the convention is a way for law enforcement agencies, from the NOPD to the FBI, to understand each other’s roles and responsibilities, build trust among the levels of agencies, and prepare a coordinated response to an attack.

While Perren would not give specifics to how tripwires would preemptively recognize a WMD maritime related threat, or what a coordinated response would look like, he did say he enjoyed Emeril’s last night.

Jeffrey Muller, Deputy Section Chief at the U.S. Department of Justice, said the bananas foster was decadently delicious, and that he enjoyed drum for the first time. Muller said the convention is not designed specifically for protecting the Super Bowl from a WMD, but for any WMD-related event in the New Orleans area.

He said he is looking forward to coming back down to New Orleans many times to prepare for the Super Bowl.