Patron Management Institute
Police arrest 6 accused of planning stabbing rampage during Berlin Half Marathon
Police arrest 6 accused of planning stabbing rampage during Berlin Half Marathon By Cleve R. Wootson Jr. April 8, 2018 German authorities had been watching the suspected terrorists for weeks. Tipped off by a foreign intelligence agency, they believed at least one of them had a link to Anis Amri, a Tunisian who barreled a truck through a Berlin Christmas market in the last Islamic terrorist attack on German soil, according to the Associated Press. Police were watching one suspect’s movements around the clock. On Sunday police said they arrested the man and five co-conspirators and foiled an alleged plot intended to inflict horror. The arrested men had planned to wade through dense crowds of runners and spectators at the Berlin Half Marathon, using knives to slash at anyone in reach, authorities said. Police have not released the names of the men who have been detained or any information about the charges they face. More than 36,000 people participated in the event, setting an attendance record, according to the BBC. The race was guarded by more than 630 police officers and went off undisturbed. “In the run-up to the Berlin Half Marathon, there were isolated indications that the six detainees, between the ages of 18 and 21, may have Keep Reading
Can Spctator Seating Be Both Steep and Safe
Can Spectator Seating Be Both Steep and Safe? by Matt Rossetti April 2018 The Bell Centre in Montreal is known as one of the NHL’s most intimidating venues for visiting players, mainly due to a large lower bowl and steep upper-bowl seating. In fact, Detroit Red Wings general manager Ken Holland stated that from a player’s perspective, this type of design makes it seem like “everybody is on top of you.” In addition to the home-team advantage the design provides, it also gives fans better sightlines to the action and lets them feel more engaged in the event due to such close proximity. This is an increasingly important factor, as in-person attendance for sporting events continues to decline and ownership groups seek new solutions to provide a better live experience. But that proximity carries a potentially steep price. Fan accidents at the 19,000-seat Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y., have led to at least four lawsuits resulting from fans tripping and falling in the arena’s steep upper bowl. More commonly, fans attending events at arenas with steep stairs complain of experiencing vertigo. Looking up at seemingly endless rows of seating can make fans feel as though they are falling. These types Keep Reading
TEEX helps Minneapolis emergency personnel prepare for Super Bowl LII
2/1/18 COLLEGE STATION – More than 1,100 emergency responders in the Minneapolis metropolitan area are better prepared for the upcoming Super Bowl LII thanks, in part, to training they received from the Texas A&M Engineering Extension Service (TEEX). Over the past three years, TEEX training for Minneapolis-area emergency personnel has focused on critical infrastructure protection, threat and risk assessment, sports and special events risk management, incident management, disaster response, cyber incident preparedness, response to hazmat/WMD incidents, and protective measures for biological incidents. In the lead-up to this year’s Super Bowl, more than 40 specialized courses were delivered by TEEX’s National Emergency Response and Rescue Training Center® (NERRTC) as part of the Homeland Security National Training Program. On Feb. 4, more than 66,000 fans will descend on the U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis for the NFL’s pinnacle event, where the New England Patriots will face the Philadelphia Eagles. Up to 1 million people are expected to visit the fan festival, Super Bowl LIVE, and the NFL Experience. Law enforcement officers from 40 jurisdictions will be on duty during the event, which is categorized by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security as a Level One Special Event Assessment Rating, meaning it has Keep Reading
Security deployed at Super Bowl is largest in Minnesota history
Security deployed at Super Bowl is largest in Minnesota history It’s an enormously complex effort involving hundreds of officers from 60 police departments across the state, 40 federal agencies, the Guard and more. By Janet Moore Star Tribune January 27, 2018 Tiny Ely in northern Minnesota — population 3,400 — decided to send nearly 30 percent of its police department to the Twin Cities to lend a hand with security for Super Bowl LII. That’s two of the town’s seven officers. “You start thinking about your guys, they work in this little small town, it would be a different experience for them,” said Ely Police Chief John Lahtonen. Ely’s finest will be joining the largest security detail ever deployed in Minnesota — and in Super Bowl history — an enormously complex effort involving hundreds of officers from 60 police departments across the state, 40 federal agencies and related offices, 400 members of the Minnesota National Guard, and private contractors. It took two years to plan security for Super Bowl LII, where the New England Patriots and Philadelphia Eagles will face off in U.S. Bank Stadium Feb. 4, as well as the phalanx of parties and events leading up to the Keep Reading
Super Bowl fan event in Minneapolis replaces security firm: report
By Dom Calicchio | Fox News 2/3/18 The company providing security to Super Bowl Live, a nightly fan event in Minneapolis connected to Sunday’s NFL championship game, has been replaced because of insufficient background checks on its employees, according to a published report. EPG Security Group, based in Minneapolis, had been left shorthanded after several of its employees were “yanked away” by federal authorities, a Minneapolis police lieutenant told the Minneapolis Star-Tribune. One security guard on duty at the event turned out to be a convicted felon, Lt. Bob Kroll told the newspaper, and then federal agents “did checks on other guys.” The Super Bowl Host Committee replaced EPG with G4S, another Minnesota-based company, the newspaper reported. 100,000 visitors expected Super Bowl Live is a carnival-like event that has operated on the streets of Minneapolis since Jan. 26, in the run-up to Sunday’s game between the New England Patriots and Philadelphia Eagles. It was expected to attract a total of more than 100,000 visitors, the Star-Tribune reported. Despite the change in security, there have been no significant problems at the event, the newspaper reported. The Super Bowl Host Committee declined to comment on the situation, but a spokeswoman issued the Keep Reading
Report: Manchester Attack Might Have Been Prevented
7:56 AM, Tuesday, 12/05/2017 By: Gideon Gottfried An independent assessment of the UK’s domestic intelligence agency MI5 and police reveals that the May 22 attack on Manchester Arena might have been prevented, had authorities appreciated the available intelligence. AP Photo / Rui Vieira Manchester AftermathA fan leaves the Park Inn hotel in central Manchester, England, May 23 David Anderson QC, the UK’s former independent reviewer of terrorism legislation, penned the report dubbed “Attacks in London and Manchester.” In June, Anderson was hired by the UK’s home secretary to provide independent quality assurance to police and MI5 reviews of the four terrorist attacks on London and Manchester between March and June 2017. The report states “it is conceivable that the Manchester attack in particular might have been averted had the cards fallen differently.” Emphasizing that the report’s aim wasn’t to blame anybody but rather learn from mistakes, Anderson comes to the conclusion that MI5’s intelligence on the attacker Salman Abedi “can be seen to have been highly relevant to the planned attack” in retrospect. MI5 had closed Abedi as a subject of interest (SOI) after an investigation in 2014. According to the report, the agency has a process of identifying subjects it Keep Reading
MGM is in crisis as hundreds of Las Vegas shooting victims accuse the Mandalay Bay of missing red flags
MGM is in crisis as hundreds of Las Vegas shooting victims accuse the Mandalay Bay of missing red flags Kate Taylor Nov. 21, 2017 Hundreds of victims of the Las Vegas shooting have filed lawsuits against the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino and its parent company MGM Resorts International. Several lawsuits — the largest of which was filed on behalf of 450 people — attempt to hold MGM legally liable for the shooting, which killed 58 people and injured hundreds more. Victims are additionally suing the shooter Stephen Paddock’s estate and the concert organizer Live Nation Entertainment Inc. as well as, in some cases, the manufacturer of the bump stocks that allowed Paddock to fire as if he were using automatic weapons. The crux of the lawsuits’ arguments is that MGM and the Mandalay Bay failed to take preventive measures that might have foiled the attack. Plaintiffs argue that staff members should have been better trained to spot red flags with Paddock. Over the three days between when Paddock checked in to the hotel and fired from his window at a concert across the street, Paddock took at least 10 suitcases filled with firearms into his room. Police officials said Keep Reading
Drone drops leaflets over football stadiums, raising security concerns
Drone drops leaflets over football stadiums, raising security concerns A drone operator was arrested on Sunday for allegedly flying a small aircraft over two football stadiums in California, prompting an investigation by federal, state and local law enforcement. The suspect, who was not immediately identified, used a drone to distribute anti-media leaflets over NFL crowds during the game between the 49ers and the Seattle Seahawks at Levi’s Stadium, according to The San Francisco Chronicle. The drone then moved on to the Coliseum stadium in Oakland and attempted to drop flyers over people watching the Raiders game against the Denver Broncos, authorities said. “If they are dropping leaflets, they can drop anything really, if you think about it, and it’s kind of scary to think that someone can just fly something over during the game and nobody can really stop it,” Ariana Rivera, a 49ers fan, told local KGO-TV station. Most leaflets did not reach the people, as they were carried away by the wind. Santa Clara Police Lt. Dan Moreno said the man was motivated by “something about free speech and his belief that television stations are corrupt,” the Chronicle reported. The drone enthusiast broke a number of laws by flying the Keep Reading
After the Iron Bowl, Jordan-Hare Stadium’s a bit of a mess
After the Iron Bowl, Jordan-Hare Stadium’s a bit of a mess Jay Busbee,Dr. Saturday, 11/28/17 You may have heard that Auburn defeated Alabama last weekend in the Iron Bowl, a triumphant victory that resounded across the state and the nation. Such milestones don’t come along all that often for Auburn these days, so the fans celebrated by storming the field at Jordan-Hare Stadium. Nice idea, but it’s going to cost the university a quarter of a million dollars in fines and require some extensive landscaping work. You can understand fans’ enthusiasm; Auburn hadn’t beaten Alabama since 2013, and the victory may well have denied the Tide a slot in the College Football Playoff. But the fans, showing more passion than athleticism, had a little trouble clearing the hedges that surround the field. As a result, both the hedges and the field are pretty chewed up, and Auburn is in the process of assessing the damage to both. A sweep of the hedges has turned up cellphones, sunglasses and other assorted paraphernalia left behind by revelers. “The extent of the real damage will not be seen until the spring, when the Bermudagrass breaks dormancy,” Eric Kleypas, Auburn’s director of athletic turf Keep Reading
Alabama fan shoots Auburn fan over which team is better, police say
Alex ScarboroughESPN Staff Writer Nov. 16, 2017 An argument between an Alabama and Auburn fan Monday over which team is better escalated to the point of gunfire, Mobile (Alabama) Police said. According to police, the Alabama fan shot the Auburn fan outside of an Extenda Suites motel around 7 p.m. on Monday. “The male subject got mad, pulled out a firearm and struck the victim in the thigh and fled,” the police report said. Mobile Police arrested 28-year-old Rodney Alexander on Thursday night on a charge of first-degree assault. The victim’s condition was unknown as of Thursday afternoon. No. 1 Alabama and No. 6 Auburn are set to play in the rivalry game known as the Iron Bowl on Nov. 25. The winner will move on to play in the SEC championship game the following weekend and with a win could find itself with a spot in the College Football Playoff. http://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/21436815/fan-shot-alabama-crimson-tide-auburn-tigers-better-spat