National Guard soldiers are ill-equipped to respond to NYC subway crime, former officers say
The 750 National Guard soldiers Gov. Kathy Hochul deployed to New York City's subway last week to do rider bag checks are ill-equipped to respond to the crimes New Yorkers are actually concerned about, former law enforcement and police officials said.
Del Pozo helped implement the NYPD’s initial random bag search program in the wake of bombings abroad in the mid-aughts. “But the bag checks were never designed or meant to detect handheld or personal weapons,” he said. “We implemented them to stop people from bringing bombs on the train.” If someone is carrying a weapon in a bag and sees the bag check, they could turn around and leave the station, or enter the system at a different point, law enforcement experts said. “Picking the subcategory of people who carry their illegal weapons in a bag, and saying some of them might get screened, and if they get screened they have the option of turning around, what does that even do?” del Pozo asked.
Rafael Mangual, an author and fellow at the Manhattan Institute, a conservative think tank, questioned whether the soldiers will have body-worn cameras, like NYPD officers do. State troopers are required to wear body cameras, but the National Guard is not. A spokesperson for the National Guard directed questions about the soldiers’ role and communication logistics to Hochul's office. A spokesperson for the governor referred Gothamist to comments Hochul made on MSNBC last week, but did not address details around Guard activities.
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