Cops let commuters stroll by suspicious package at Staten Island ferry: video
Staten Island NY November 19 2018
A security handler at the Staten Island Ferry turned his back on a suspicious bag in a “mindblowing” breach of protocol last month that a 9/11 first responder called a violation of “Bomb Squad 101,” a shocking video shows.
In the Oct. 5 incident at the St. George terminal, a private security officer’s bomb-sniffing dog indicated a duffle bag needed to be searched, but the handler, NYPD and Department of Transportation personnel failed to clear a section of the building for at least six minutes during the morning rush, the Staten Island Advance reported.
In the video, the canine sits once and then a second time, the tipoff that something is suspicious, but the handler turns his back on the owner of the bag, who also sets down a backpack.
Police move the individual, dressed in a T-shirt and shorts, off to the side, apparently for questioning, four minutes later, the paper reported, while waves of ferry riders, including a woman pushing her baby in a stroller, walk by the unattended bag.
“Once the dog sits down, you have to spring into action and secure the area. It’s Bomb Squad 101,” a disgusted ex-cop told The Post. “You had no idea if he was going to blow himself up.”
Retired NYPD Lt. Lloyd Thompson, former commander of the Staten Island Task Force, called the video “mindblowing” and the response a “clusterf–k,” saying he would have “immediately” evacuated the area and, if needed, shut down the terminal.
“Everybody has to be retrained down there, because obviously they had no clue,” Thompson said.
He could not believe officials used their cells phones near the bag, which could have triggered an explosive device.
“A determination was made immediately that the bag posed no threat as the passenger opened his bag for inspection as soon as the canine unit approached,” said Scott Gastel, a spokesman for DOT, which runs the ferries and terminal. “If something was found to be suspicious in the package the terminal would be cleared.”
An NYPD spokesman said cops arrived on the scene and “determined there was no explosive device in the bag” but would not say when that determination was made.
“Prior to that, a portion of the ferry terminal was cordoned off,” the spokesman said. “Once it was determined there was no explosive in the bag, the person that was held was released. Counter-terrorism and the intelligence division were notified.”
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