Brussels attacks prompt more security in NYC, on LI

NYPD Commissioner William Bratton on Wednesday said Republican presidential candidate Ted Cruz’s support for widespread surveillance of Muslims in the United States shows he won’t be elected president.

Reiterating comments he made Tuesday, Bratton, speaking at a special graduation ceremony for bomb-sniffing dogs, said it was foolhardy for Cruz to paint all Muslims as potential terrorists and again pointed out that the NYPD has nearly 1,000 Muslim officers, many of them veterans.

“For him or any presidential candidate to disparage the men and woman who are working to secure this country and this city — shame on them,” Bratton said. “So Mr. Cruz, as I said it yesterday [Tuesday], [this] is a good indication of why he will not become president of the United States.”

As he spoke to reporters, Bratton was flanked by two Labrador retrievers and their handlers, part of a group of eight canines graduating as part of the counterterrorism dog-training program. The animals are called “vapor weight” dogs because they are trained to detect explosives, particularly on people carrying bombs through a crowd as happened in the Brussels attacks.

Sitting on all four paws next to Bratton were Paulie, named after the late Officer Paul Ferrara, and Abe, named after the late officer Abraham Walton. All eight dogs were named after NYPD officers who were killed in the line of duty or died as a result of Sept. 11, 2001.

Referencing the attacks in Brussels, Bratton said the dogs, which were paid for with $500,000 in federal security funding, were “our front lines of defenses in the war on terrorism.”

Bratton said that while some experts have suggested setting up separate baggage-checking facilities at airports, it was a solution that wouldn’t be able to do away with long lines of passengers.

“The issue of lines at airports is a fact of life and dogs is how you deal with it,” Bratton said.

During an early morning appearance on CBS television Wednesday, Bratton said an attack like the ones in Brussels could happen in New York and other American cities.

“It can happen anywhere in the world,” Bratton said. “But the benefit here is we put a lot of resources into the intelligence community.”

Ramped-up security was evident Wednesday around the city, particular in subway and rail stations. In Nassau, acting Police Commissioner Thomas Krumpter said there are no credible threats against Long Island, but in light of Tuesday’s terrorist attacks and as the Easter holiday approaches, the police department is stepping up patrols in areas that might be targeted, including transit centers, religious institutions and major shopping centers.

“All our resources have been deployed to improve our ability to provide for the safety of the residents of Nassau County,” Krumpter said at a news conference Wednesday afternoon at Nassau government headquarters in Mineola. “The price tag is realigning the resources that we currently have to focus on these soft targets. We will minimize the costs to the maximum extent. But first and foremost will be the safety of the residents and we will not compromise that based on the price of any overtime.”

By Anthony M. DeStefano

tony.destefano@newsday.com,nicole.fuller@newsday.comtonynewsday,

Anthony M. DeStefano has been a reporter for Newsday since 1986 and covers law enforcement, criminal justice and legal affairs from its New York City offices.