NYPD can shoot down an airliner? Experts troubled.
| New York
New York police chief Ray Kelly raised eyebrows on the CBS show "60 Minutes" Sunday when he said his police department has the means to knock an airplane out of the sky.
颁叠厂鈥檚 Scott Pelley quickly asked, 鈥淒o you mean the NYPD has the means to take down an aircraft?鈥�
Replied Mr. Kelly, 鈥淵es, I prefer not to get into the details, but obviously this would be in an extreme situation.鈥�
However extreme that might be, some terrorism experts question whether Kelly does or should have that authority.
鈥淚 guarantee it鈥檚 not the decision of the chief of police in New York City,鈥� says Danny Defenbaugh, a retired FBI agent who now has its own security consulting firm in Dallas.
Probably one of the first places that would be actively involved if another 9/11 type of situation came up would be the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) at Peterson Air Force Base in Colorado Springs, Colo. [Editor's note: The original version of this story listed the wrong location for Peterson Air Force Base.]
"NORAD remains responsible for defending the US and Canada from air attacks on our nations,鈥� says spokesman John Cornelio, adding that NORAD can 鈥渦nilaterally鈥� make a decision based on its information and launch fighter jets to go after a potential threat.
The Federal Aviation Administration now shares its radar with NORAD, and both groups share representatives who serve as liaisons, says FAA Laura Brown. 鈥淎ll of the agencies involved developed a better relationship since 9/11,鈥� she adds.
In an emergency, NORAD can scramble military jets armed with air-to-air missiles. In the case of the NYPD, it鈥檚 not clear what weapons it has at its disposal.
On Monday, in response to questions from reporters, Mayor Michael Bloomberg said, 鈥淭he NYPD has lots of capabilities that you don鈥檛 know about and you won鈥檛 know about.鈥�
Some news reports suggested the police might be able to mount a .50 caliber gun on a helicopter to shoot at a plane. Whether that would work is not clear.
But should the New York police be the ones making a decision to bring down an airliner, even if they are capable of it?
Terrorism experts have their doubts.
鈥淭here is no police department that should be making such decisions,鈥� says Maki Haberseld, an expert on terrorism at John Jay College in New York. 鈥淭he decision should be in the hands of the president of the country.鈥�
She reasons that the decision to shoot down an airplane should be made by an elected official. 鈥淧olice chiefs are appointed by mayors, they have not necessarily gone through some kind of election. It鈥檚 truly a scary perspective that someone like a police chief would be given that much discretion.鈥�
Former FBI agent Mr. Defenbaugh also casts doubt on Kelly鈥檚 assertions. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 know who is giving him the authority to knock down airplanes,鈥� he says. 鈥淣ot even in New York City.鈥�
