Officials Plan To Increase Security For Pittsburgh Marathon
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) - Pittsburgh Public Safety Director Michael Huss had his regularly scheduled briefings with his top security chiefs today, but the Boston bombings were uppermost in their minds as Pittsburgh's own marathon looms next month.
"Obviously, were going to increase our security presence for this year's marathon," Huss said. But, beyond that he would not reveal many specifics.
He did say that after an incident during the 2010 marathon when an unattended microwave rerouted marathon traffic, planners learned a lot and learned to be flexible.
Ray DeMichei, Deputy Director of the city's Office of Emergency Management and Homeland Security said you can expect to see an increased presence of K-9 units at this year's event.
"We're not going to lay out specifics, but I think it's reasonable that everyone should expect that there will be a higher presence of those explosive detector dogs before, during and after the marathon to make sure we have good site security," DeMichei said.
At City Council today, Rev. Ricky Burgess, who represents Homewood, introduced legislation to combine video cameras with an acoustical system to track gun violence there. But, given the current climate, he thinks that idea may one day go beyond the city's East End.
"It could one day be a city-wide initiative," Burgess said.
Rev. Ricky Burgess
Meantime, Marathon Director Patrice Matamoros said her planners will be meeting with law enforcement in the coming days, but has seen no drop off in interest.
"If anything, I think that people are feeling more compelled to be part of this," she said.
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