Metro, MTA Boost Security After Bin Laden's Death
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Transit agencies in the Baltimore-Washington region are stepping up security as a precaution following Osama bin Laden's death.
Metro spokeswoman Lisa Farbstein says Metro Transit Police are working with area law enforcement partners to increase security in the system. She says customers may see more uniformed officers in the system beginning Monday, but other security measures are designed to be invisible.
Metro police Chief Michael Taborn says bin Laden's death is a reminder to transit leaders that there are people out there who want to harm Americans.
Taborn says that the stepped-up security is not a response to any specific threat and that the system's train and buses aren't necessarily any less safe in the wake of bin Laden's death.
Taborn says additional random bag searches are possible and that other precautions have been taken that are less visible than the officers patrolling platforms at Metro stations. He's urging riders to report unattended packages and any suspicious behavior.
The Maryland Transit Administration says there may be more uniformed and undercover patrols.
Two police officers were stationed Monday morning on each side of the platform at the King Street Metro station in Alexandria, Va. One commuter, Susan Welsh, was scheduled to fly home Monday out of Reagan National Airport in Washington. She said she was not scared and had not considered the possibility of a retaliatory attack.
(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
