President Obama visited Police Headquarters today to personally congratulate the NYPD for its efforts in fighting terrorism and reassure New York’s Finest of his commitment to providing them with resources to protect the Big Apple.
“I just wanted to stop by say,” Thank you,” Obama began during a 10-minute visit to the NYPD’s Real Time Crime Center. “The country is proud of you. . . the president is proud of you.
“I don’t think I need to tell you that given the potential for attack everywhere in the country, we’ve got a lot to learn from what is taking place here,” Obama said as he lauded the NYPD’s role in tracking down suspected car bomber terrorist Faisal Shahzad after he tried to detonate explosives in crowded Times Square.
“I know you folks are busy, but I just wanted to come by and say thank you. I was telling the mayor and the commissioner that the work that the NYPD does in coordination with state, local, and federal officials when it comes to counterterrorism is a model for the country.”
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Faced with criticism his administration is not providing the city with enough terror-fighting federal dollars, Obama made a point to say he wants to “make sure you’re getting what you need to protect this great city.”
“It makes me proud for the country, proud of the fact that I lived in New York for a while,” he said referring to his years attending Columbia University.
Standing in front of a roomful of screens and monitors providing images of the city and crime data, NYPD Inspector Kenneth Mekeel ran the president through the images of evidence seized in the Times Square case that led to Shahzad’s capture in 53 hours.
Obama shook hands with every officer in the room before being presented with a personalized NYPD jacket with the name tag, POTUS, which stands for President of the United States and then met privately with about two dozen of the first responding cops to the Time Square incident, including Mounted officer Wayne Rattigan, several bomb squad cops and officers who helped clear the streets.
Obama is the second President to visit 1PP. In 2002, President George W. Bush similarly thank ed the NYPD in the wake of the destruction of the World Trade Center.