LA Cops Head to Paris to Study Handling of Terror Attacks

Hoping to learn about ways to prevent and respond to terrorist attacks, the Los Angeles Police Department will send a team to Paris to meet with authorities there as they continue to carry out raids on suspected terror cells in response to the attacks that left 129 people dead.

LAPD Officer Liliana Preciado said Chief Charlie Beck will not be among those traveling to Paris, and she declined to provide details about when the group will be traveling or which members of the department would take part in the trip.

“The chief is sending a group to meet and confer and look at the issues to see if there is any lesson we can learn,” Preciado said.

Beck, in remarks reported on KNX Newsradio, said the department has “a lot to learn” from the Paris attacks.

“This is a new type of incident that may have evolved through a different set of planning rituals and we want to make sure that we become aware of that and that we’re more able to respond to it here in the United States,” he said.

Friday’s attacks in Paris were particularly concerning for anti- terrorism agencies since there were no overt warnings or indications that an attack was imminent. LAPD Deputy Chief Michael Downing told CBS2 the attacks were a game-changer for anti-terrorism agencies, calling it a “multi- synchronized, coordinated attack -- and it wasn’t detected.”

“That’s a problem for us,” said Downing, the LAPD’s counter-terrorism chief. “So we need a lot of help from the communities. We need a lot of help from people to tell us when they see suspicious activity occurring.”

Mayor Eric Garcetti is also planning to travel to Paris next month -- not for any directly anti-terrorism-related purposes, but to attend the United Nations Climate Change Conference.

“In just a few weeks, I will be in Paris with my dear friend, (Paris) Mayor Anne Hidalgo, who herself has shown courage like so many Parisians, shown a strength that the City of Lights is one that will always burn bright,” Garcetti said during a candlelight vigil at City Hall Tuesday night. “And we here in the City of Angels know that light, embrace that light here today.

“The world will come to Paris for global climate talks, because Paris has always been a center not just of France, but one of the great centers of culture, politics and human civilization.”

The mayor’s spokeswoman, Connie Llanos, Monday that Garcetti was not planning to attend the climate conference in Paris. It’s unclear when Garcetti changed his mind. In a statement today, the mayor said, “Recent events have only reaffirmed my resolve and desire to stand with Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo as she hosts leaders from around the world. I am proud to join former (New York City) Mayor Michael Bloomberg and my fellow mayors for this historic summit.”

The conference, known as COP21, is scheduled for Dec. 3-4.

City News Service