The New York City Police State

From http://www.wearechange.org/2008/03/new-york-police-state.html

Major boost in NYPD patrols in subways

BY ALISON GENDAR AND JAMES GORDON MEEK DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITERS
Saturday, February 2nd 2008, 4:00 AM

NYPD cops armed with rifles, submachine guns, body armor and bomb-sniffing dogs will start patrolling the city's subways on a regular basis - a first for mass transit in the United States.
Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly said Friday a major boost in Homeland Security Department funding made possible the extra protection for the subways, long considered a potential terror target.
"You'll see officers with automatic weapons in the transit system. You'll see additional bomb-sniffing dogs that'll be funded by this (federal) program," Kelly said.
Kelly said the $151 million from the feds will help get Operation Torch up and running. The heavily-armed teams, toting MP5 submachine guns that are used by Navy SEALs and FBI hostage-rescue teams, will begin manning the subways in early March.
Teams of six officers and a bomb-sniffing dog will patrol subway platforms and trains in 12-hour shifts.
Such teams had been sent into the subways before - but only on days of high alert. Now they will be part of the city's regular counterterrorism patrols.
Similarly equipped NYPD units, known as Hercules teams, have patrolled Wall Street and other aboveground landmarks like the Empire State Building as part of the NYPD response to the World Trade Center attacks.

The extra cash came from a Homeland Security grant that increased 50% over last year, and will be shared by law enforcement agencies within the region.
The funding can be used for overtime staffing.
Some New York lawmakers crowed that the boost was payback from Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff for slashing $80 million in high-threat grants two years ago.
Gov. Spitzer, who announced the anti-terror payout with Kelly and other officials at Grand Central Terminal, said his attitude toward Chertoff was "sweets and peaches."
Rep. Peter King (R-L.I.), who once accused the Homeland Security honcho of declaring war on New York by cutting the funds, told The News, "Michael Chertoff turned this around and made it right."

Sen. Chuck Schumer said it's too soon to declare Chertoff a guardian angel."Before fitting him for a halo we have to see what this administration intends to do with homeland secure funding in the coming year," he said.
agendar@nydailynews.com