Alphecca

What Would We Do Without Experts?

From the East Valley Tribune (AZ):

Losses of police gear troubling to Ariz. experts

In Chandler, an FBI agent’s unmarked car was stolen from his neighborhood — along with a special agent’s badge, an FBI building access card, a submachine gun and SWAT gear.

In Tempe, a police commander’s unmarked car was stolen with SWAT uniforms and a handgun inside.

And two weeks ago in Phoenix, a SWAT officer’s unmarked car was snatched, along with numerous tactical gear items and weapons.

Are these incidents and others like them merely the acts of opportunistic thieves? Or could it be the handiwork of a larger organization gathering the tools necessary to carry out a far more sinister plan?

Those are the questions that Arizona counterterrorism experts ask every time they are alerted to stolen or missing police equipment — which they have been documenting and analyzing in response to the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.

“We look at this with a global perspective,” said Maj. Norm Beasley, intelligence bureau commander of the Arizona Counterterrorist Information Center in Phoenix. “When you look at terrorist attacks in other parts of the world, historically, this is exactly what happened. They’ve worn police uniforms, driven police vehicles that are either made to look like police or are in fact stolen.”