Start Transit Terror Training;

Start Transit Terror Training

By ARI PAUL

After years of criticism for not offering anti-terrorism training to its employees, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority started down that road Oct. 10 with a class on how to spot suspicious persons in the transit system that attracted two dozen workers.

The Chief-Leader/Adrienne Haywood James 'LOOK FOR BEHAVIOR': Former NYPD Det. John Turner, right, teaches New York City Transit workers Oct. 10 how to spot would-be terrorists and how to communicate properly during an emergency. The course is part of a plan to train 28,000 Metropolitan Transportation Authority workers in anti-terror tactics. Former NYPD Det. John Turner of the EAI Corporation taught the class in a New York City Transit training center at the 14th St./8th Ave. station.

The MTA plans to educate 24,000 NYC Transit workers as well as 4,000 workers in its other railroad and bus components about anti-terrorist and security procedures. The curriculum for the training was designed and will be administered by the National Transit Institute at Rutgers University and the EAI Corporation. Funding will come from the MTA.

'Must Watch Carefully'

Mr. Turner showed a video depicting a foiled plot to set up bombs on a New Jersey Transit commuter train. He showed how transit workers could identify persons who may be surveilling stations and transit equipment for nefarious purposes. He told workers to watch for loiterers and people taking photos and said that they should be approached with care. If their responses are hostile, he added, workers should alert their supervisors.

When engaging those who arouse their suspicions, he said, workers should note if they display teeth-clenching or excessive sweating or if they are tugging their clothing and have a general inability to keep still.

Oscar Chang, a Station Agent with 20 years on the job, said after the class session that he often sees suspicious people in the stations and that the class reminded him to be more observant.

"You should have some respect about that," he said.

Communicate Clearly

Mr. Turner said that during a crisis, transit workers should be able to speak clearly and without jargon to emergency responders. In addition, he said, they should avoid reporters and others who would not be involved in a response. In the event that an improvised explosive device might be on the premises, radio and cell phone use should be avoided as it might detonate the device, he said.

During the class, a worker pointed out that when many Americans think of potential terrorists, they think of those of Middle Eastern descent, but that the people depicted in the training videos were not. Mr. Turner noted that even though the 9/11 attackers were Middle Eastern, terrorists come from all backgrounds. He cited Jose Padilla, a Latino accused of planning to detonate a "dirty bomb" on American soil, as well as Timothy McVeigh, a white supremacist who carried out the Oklahoma City Federal building bombing of 1995.

"We're saying step away from that," he said of ethnic-profiling. "Look for behavior."