SWAT teams patrol BART trains (San Francisco)

[JackieO]

Passengers did plenty of double-takes Friday morning as BART police Sgts. Eugene Wong and Kevin Franklin, carrying assault rifles and gas masks and clad in SWAT uniforms, made their way through the Balboa Park station in San Francisco.

...for the first time, BART tactical officers, following the lead of transit agencies in cities such as Los Angeles, New York and Washington, began patrolling the system this week to deter potential terrorists as election day draws near. BART is the only transit agency in Northern California that is deploying SWAT officers on a routine basis.

No specific threats have been reported to BART or any other transit agency, but authorities don't want to take any chances, said BART Police Chief Gary Gee.

...They were met by plenty of quizzical stares and some raised eyebrows as they inspected various stations, peeked out the doors of some trains and walked the length of others, looking for anything amiss. Franklin used the muzzle of his rifle at one point to look under a pile of newspapers on a seat. "Is that yours?" Wong asked a bearded man, who looked at a green bag on a train seat and nodded.




http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2004/10/23/MNGKA9F73J1.DTL

[smirkymonkey]

1. FEAR, FEAR, FEAR....

It's their only hope for winning this election.

[grasswire]

2. welcome to the police state

The high-visibility patrols, which include explosive-detecting K-9 units and volunteers in fluorescent vests, might continue after election day, BART police said.

"We don't want terrorists to think, 'Cool, after the election we can do anything we want to do,' " said Franklin, a former Oakland police officer and eight-year veteran of the BART force.

The special patrols will also be done at different times of the day throughout the 43-station system, which runs through four counties.

"We decided to have officers do random sweeps," Wong said. "If terrorists want to scope us out, we didn't want them to see our routine."

[tlcandie]

22. As I was looking at this picture I thought...

how subtle to drop them in in lieu of POSSIBLE threats and get people to feel safer with them and get use to them and then NEVER pull them out.

[shance]

28. self-deleted

n/t

[Cerridwen]

3. No, armed men patrolling does not make me feel safer...

makes me feel like we're under seige.

I'm in Vegas; 2 weeks ago on my way to work I wound up behind what was obviously 2 vans full of SWAT team members; yeah they wore the vests which had SWAT on them. One van was black with the dark tinted windows, the other had black material over the windows. It made me wonder what was happening and where.

I didn't see anything on the news. It just feels like we're under seige.

[murielm99]

4. That guy sitting there looks very threatening.

NOT

:7

[PartyPooper]

14. And, very, very cute, too BTW!

:D

[dave502d]

5. 2 words.

Their nuts.

[Amigust]

6. San Francisco needs to be on special guard.

They're a Democratic city in a state that could toss the election to Bush if they were hit hard, imo. I hope they're doing a hell of a lot more than this to protect the place, though in a less visible manner.

On the other hand, this could be a BART management prop to instill fear ahead of the election, because fear supports the bushmaster.

I suspect that with Bush impersonating the President, we would have to get used to seeing more such sights in public places, kinda similar to some cities south of the border.

[PassingFair]

7. Please, please, please let this

"backfire" on them. Seeing this would guarantee a trip to the polls for me.

[AlCzervik]

8. i'm heading to San francisco tomorrow

i will have my camera and may hop on the Bart. I will post pics.

[BiggJawn]

9. That's beyond sick!

"Quizzical stares"? I'd have given them looks of hot contempt.

You OK with this, America? Does it make you feel safer, the possibility of getting cut down in a hail of Police machine-gun fire instead of incinerated in a "Terra-ist" bomb-blast?

What are two 'roid-nut fuckers with their Colt M-16 Penis Substitutes gonna do against some kook with a bomb? get him to detonate it earlier than he wanted to?

Fucking Fascist thugs. Bring on your God-dam "Krystallnacht", you jack-boot assholes.

why do they call it a "Thin Blue Line" Those fuckers have been wearing that black nylon and leather for years now....

[JackieO]

20. hey now ~

My sentiments exactly. :mad:

[havocmom]

10. Have to wonder: Going to get the people ready to accept a lockdown

due to credible information indicating a high probabilty of a possible attack say, oh, about 1AM on Nov 2?

[Amigust]

13. Interesting read at Citizens for Legitimate Government:

Terrorism and the Election: California is the Target!

http://www.legitgov.org/essay_madsen_terrorism_and_california_071404.html

[havocmom]

15. Link didn't work

No doubt California is a target, just wondering: LIHOP or MIHOP?
I don't think Rove/Cheney leave much to chance.

[Amigust]

16. I re-saved the link and it works for me.

I hope you can get to it.

http://www.legitgov.org/essay_madsen_terrorism_and_california_071404.html

[shance]

30. CLG says California's the target

Dick Cheney of course has made quite a few references to California and another massive terrorist attack.

Just right before (or after) the election......

[troubleinwinter]

11. fearterror

"...for the first time, BART tactical officers, following the lead of transit agencies in cities such as Los Angeles, New York and Washington, began patrolling the system this week to deter potential terrorists as election day draws near."

Over three years, and this has not been seen as neccessary, until a week and a half before chimp is set to lose the election. NOW we suddenly need the Gestapo.

Small municipalities all over this country have been financially ruined by having to deal with the stupidass orange alerts, paying overtime for officers to patrol NOTHING.

It is just fucking insane. THREE YEARS of terror threats by this administration and "FOR THE FIRST TIME" BART sees fit to "deter potential terrorists as election day draws near".

fearterrorfearterrorfearterrorfearterrorfearterror

(edit typos due to being pissed while typing)

[kysrsoze]

29. Oh, Man. That picture of Bundy is startling.

Notice they both have crazy-looking eyes, though Bush just looks more high. Sheesh. This is going to be an interesting 9 days.

[PartyPooper]

12. They threatened to shoot surfers who dared to get near the GG Bridge!

It was only last year...I saw it on TV! WTF?

:wtf:

[MisterP]

23. got link?

we're through the Looking-Glass here

[Doofer]

17. "SWAT teams patrol BART trains (San Francisco)"

Shouldn't they be wearing brown?

[newyawker99]

31. Hi Doofer!!

Welcome to DU!! :toast:

[henslee]

18. I'm watching Graham Allison, author of the Nuclear Terrorism: Preventable

Catastrophe. He's on CSPAN2 Booknotes right now. Frankly, I don't think a swat team on a train is going to do much. He just described how vulnerable we are and how we are living on borrowed time.

[Carolab]

19. Does this report seem "balanced"?

I doubt that it was all happy, smiling people, as the song goes

[JackieO]

21. but their photojournalism speaks volumes

That guys doesn't look too thrilled to be made "safe" by machine gun-wielding jackbooted thugs, does he?

[George_S]

24. Now the terrorists know how to dress with impunity

[qs04]

25. I live in the Bay Area...

I use BART occasionally. If possible I think I'd wait for the next train rather than sit face to face with something out of the USSR. If merely having visible patrols were the point cops with holstered sidearms would suffice. Having guys brandishing assault rifles reeks of fear mongering, intimidation and acclimating the population to the presence of military law enforcement (and yes, I'm well aware SWAT is merely paramilitary).

"Your papers please."

[Bark Bark Bark]

26. I Ride BART Every Day

To work. At the SF International Airport.

Due in part to the wonderful faith-based economy, BART doesn't clean the trains like they used to (or should). Perhaps the Goon Squads can pick up a little?

Yeah, didn't think so.

I'm taking bets on how long I'll be before someone gets shot over a bag of cold fajitas. (Fellow 'Friscoids know what I'm talkin' about.)

Our "adjustment" towards the acceptance of a total police state has begun. qs04, you are absolutely right: we abhorred the Soviet Union for its armed goon squads that could kill you or take you away for torture with no hope of legal recourse; and look at us now.

Thank God we still have a free press...

...oh, crap.

[Book Lover]

27. I don't take BART, but I live here too

Did you read at the end of the article how the BART SWAT team consists on a mere 18 folks? I want the chief to sit in front of me and tell me with a straight face that that's adequate for the system. Feel-bad fear-mongering with inadequate tools...

[newyawker99]

32. Hi qs04!!

Welcome to DU!! :toast: