NYPD officials pledge to maintain counterterror funding
NYPD Counterterrorism Chief John Miller speaks at a news conference in Manhattan, along with Chief of the Department James O'Neill, speaks about budget concerns for counterterrorism programs in New York City and notes that no cuts are planned Friday, March 25, 2016. Credit: John Roca
Specially trained NYPD counterterrorism officers will continue to be used without interruption despite the fact that federal money used to pay for their overtime expenses will run out by the end of this month, officials said Friday.
NYPD officials, including Deputy Commissioner John Miller and Chief of Department James O’Neill refuted an online story by the New York Post that said the department might suspend the counterterrorism program due to the overtime crunch.
“This is the New York City Police Department,” Miller said at a hastily arranged news conference. “If we need to deploy counterterrorism officers on mission, we are going to deploy them — whether it is covered by federal funds, or city funds or moving other homeland security grant funds from one pot or another.”
Because of extra security needed in the face of the Paris terror attacks, the large United Nations meeting in September, as well as the visit to the city by Pope Francis, special federal homeland security funding used to pay for counterterrorism overtime has essentially been used up, Miller said.
That fact was communicated to various borough commanders in a conference call this week, he said.
Counterterrorism police are selected from all city precincts and given special training in surveillance, explosives detection and hostile shooter scenarios. The several hundred “CTOs” are in addition to the newly created and heavily armed Critical Respond Command, Strategic Response Group and Emergency Services Unit, all of which total as many as 2,000 officers, said NYPD counterterrorism chief James Water.
While the federal money used for the overtime will by exhausted in a few days, Miller said the city has the option of using NYPD funds to pay for any costs or simply use the CTOs on straight time. Other federal funds can also be tapped, he said.
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.
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