Schumer Demands Better Police Coordination At Penn Station After Stampede
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) said Sunday that Penn Station needs major improvements in coordination, training and staffing following a panic and stampede a week ago Friday.
In the incident a week ago Friday, a disabled NJ TRANSIT train first led to widespread delays and left the train depot packed and crammed.
Then, as frustrated passengers crowded the platforms, Amtrak police used a Taser on a suspect, which some people mistook for the sound of gunshots.
Terrified travelers ran in fear for their lives, leaving behind luggage, clothing and even shoes. As CBS2 Political Reporter Marcia Kramer reported last week, at least 16 people were injured as they fled what they thought was a terrorist attack.
Schumer said improvements are mandated at Penn Station following the incident. He said the panic and stampede revealed "across-the-board flaws, poor coordination, poor staffing and vulnerabilities in law enforcement's security procedures that endanger the commuting public."
As WCBS 880's Peter Haskell reported, Schumer called for coordinated security systems, command centers, and training exercises that he said would be critical to improving safety at the depot.
"There should be established a centralized command center at Penn Station that links all the agencies," Schumer said.
Schumer said if police departments at Penn Station were properly coordinated, panics would be less likely, 1010 WINS' Roger Stern reported.
"The guy with the stun gun would call up the command center. Every different law enforcement agency would know what happened. They could tell people immediately just it was a stun gun – there's no panic – and people wouldn't have panicked," Schumer said.
Amtrak police are in charge at the station, but the NYPD, NJ TRANSIT police, Metropolitan Transportation Authority police and the National Guard are all represented.
"It makes you wonder just who's in charge here," Schumer said.
Schumer called for a similar command center at John F. Kennedy International Airport after a panic there last year, and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey has since complied.