Boston Police Headed To NYC To Learn About Security In Times Square
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Boston police will be coming to New York City to learn how to better protect people at big events.
Just over two weeks since the Boston Marathon bombings, Boston police are studying ways to improve security for upcoming events.
Boston's next major gathering is Independence Day on the Esplanade, where hundreds of thousands go to for an annual fireworks show.
Superintendent Paul Fitzgerald, the chief intelligence official for the Boston Police Department, said Boston police will be coming to New York to learn how the NYPD handles large crowds at high risk events.
Boston Looks To NYPD For Advice
"We're heading to New York City to learn about the Times Square plan that they've put in place for New Year's," Fitzgerald told WBZ in Boston. "Because clearly, that's a very high risk event that they run there, but they're so helpful to us we're going to go down and see how they run that event."
Fitzgerald said he is interested in the elaborate partitioning system the NYPD uses to control massive crowds. He said a similar layout could be implemented for future events in Boston.
"I've always felt and my department has, that Boston would be a primary target," said Fitzgerald.
New York City Police Commissioner Ray Kelly is rolling out the welcome mat.
"Well, we have a very close working relationship with the Boston Police and the Massachusetts State Police and we stand ready to help in any way we can," Kelly told WCBS 880 reporter Rich Lamb on Staten Island Friday. "As a matter of fact, on April 15th, when the bombing took place, some Boston police officers were here receiving training, and we sent our personnel up there. They were there just a couple of hours after the bombing."
Kelly added they'll show them everything.
As Boston police prepare for their next big events, CBS News has learned the suspected marathon bombers had originally intended for the plot to happen on July 4th.
A U.S. official confirmed that detained suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev told authorities that the bombing was supposed to take place on the Fourth of July, according to CBS News correspondent John Miller. The actual attack took place on April 15.
The official also said that Tsarnaev revealed that the bombs were constructed at his older brother Tamerlan's residence and that Tamerlan had brought Dzhokhar into the plot a couple of months before.
The official noted that Dzhokhar Tsarnaev had said different things at different times and that it is all subject to investigation, CBS News reported.
Meanwhile, a funeral home has claimed the body Tamerlan Tsarnaev, who died in a gunbattle with police.
The funeral home was retained by Tsarnaev's family and picked up the 26-year-old's remains on Thursday, Department of Public Safety spokesman Terrel Harris said.
The attorny of Tsarnaev's widow, Katherine Russell, said she wanted the body turned over to her husband's side of the family.
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