NurseWeek

Agencies prepare for terrorist attacks

By José Alaniz
July 29, 2000


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Los Angeles. As the downtown Staples Center gears up for the Democratic National Convention on Aug. 14-17, federal agencies and city police are preparing for possible terrorist attacks, with nearby hospitals training staff for biological warfare – despite charges of overreaction from activists organizing concurrent protests.

Eager to avert the debacle in Seattle last fall, when thousands of organized protesters disrupted a conference of the World Trade Organization, the FBI and the national Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have joined Los Angeles authorities in drawing up a management and response plan to any threat from those expected to picket outside the convention hall.

But officials downplay suggestions that these plans differ from the standard security measures taken when so many political figures gather in one place.

"In the normal course of preparations for an event of this kind, we prepare for a lot of different things," said Capt. Mike Kenyon of the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department, who is in charge of the convention planning group. "Our primary responsibility will be crowd control. We’re not anticipating anything bizarre."

The city expects as many as 50,000 protesters to converge on Pershing Square and other areas near the Staples Center during the convention, Kenyon said, although some protest organizers, collectively called D2K, dispute that figure.

"One of D2K’s principles is non-violence against people and property, including bioterrorism," said D2K member Sidney Ross, RN. "We’re concerned about this effort to demonize people who want to speak out about race, disability, pay equality and other issues."

Over the objections of law enforcement authorities, U.S. District Judge Gary Feess ordered the city July 20 to allow protesters closer to the convention site than originally planned, saying a too-wide "buffer zone" would violate protesters’ constitutional rights.