Crime & Safety

Police Chief, Public Safety Director Shed Light on City's Readiness for Mass Attack

Sandy Springs Police Chief Ken DeSimone says that since the Boston bombings residents have reached out to him by phone, email and text to be reassured that the community is safe.

 

The number of suspicious packages reported around the metro reveal a new nervousness since the Boston bombings.

Sandy Springs Police Chief Ken DeSimone says that since the bombings residents have reached out to him by phone, email and text to be reassured that the community is safe. 

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“Not a day that goes by that I don’t get a question about terrorism,” DeSimone said. “It has terrorized people. They’re asking, ‘Can it happen here? How well protected are we? What do you think - were they connected to overseas or were they homegrown?' ”

Sandy Springs experienced two bombings in 1997 by Eric Robert Rudolph, known as the Olympic Park Bomber. 

Find out what's happening in Sandy Springswith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The bombs went off at the Northside Family Planning Clinic on Carpenter Drive. The first device was set at the back of the building. The second bomb went off an hour later as medical personnel, firefighters and law enforcement worked the scene.

“So that was set up to get at police and fire,” DeSimone said. He was recently promoted from Deputy Police Chief.

Former Chief Terry Sult is now Director of Public Safety. Sult's new role includes oversight of local emergency management response protocol, including coordination with state and federal agencies, and nearby municipalities.

Sult and City Manager John McDonough have led a partnership with Alpharetta, Roswell and Milton for a new $16 million digital radio system. Sult said it’s essential to respond to a major emergency in the same way as the Boston authorities handled the bombings. 

“Since Columbine every event heightens the awareness and sensitivity to a major event,” said Sult, referring to the 1999 high school shooting.

The Director said he is attending an active shooter training conference by the Police Executive Research Forum, this week.

Since the Sandy Hook shootings, schools such as North Springs Charter High School have been proactive in what to do if an intruder enters the building. Sult said Sandy Springs Police and Fire have met with North Springs staff and faculty to talk through what happens if an active shooter enters the school.

DeSimone - “We’re Very Aware of Terrorism”

A Sandy Springs detective works full-time on the Joint Terrorism Task Force in the Atlanta FBI office. 

“He is a full-fledged investigator but he can concentrate on anything [related to] Sandy Springs or North Fulton," DeSimone said. "If we have something come up that’s unusual, that we need to check out more, then we can assign it to him and he has all the assets and backing of the FBI. It’s an added layer of security for the City of Sandy Springs."

Additionally, DeSimone’s is well-experienced in investigating terrorism. As a detective with the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department, he was assigned to the Joint Terrorism Task Force with the FBI. He worked on terrorist investigations before and after Sept. 11, 2001.

A United States Marine, DeSimone said he experienced several bombings during tours in Iraq, Turkey and Afghanistan. In 2011, he was in charge of a team that advised the Helmand Province Afghanistan Chief of Police. The Afghan police force of 6,000 sees 300 policemen killed each year, DeSimone said.

In watching Boston on the news last week, DeSimone said he could tell which law enforcement and responders had combat experience. “We learn a lot from war [like] applying tourniquets in the right way," he said. "In the old days, if you had a leg blown off, you'd come close to losing your life. But because of advances, we now have the equipment [to save your life].”

DeSimone added, “All of our officers have tourniquets in the cars so they can quickly apply them in mass casualties. It’s just recently that we’ve taken these steps and it all comes from lessons we’ve learned in Afghanistan and Iraq; so we are much better prepared.”


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