State
police superintendent Col. Patrick Callahan says 74 of his
troopers are in Washington,
D.C. helping with the situation at the Capitol, getting the call
following an EMAC, Emergency Management Assistance Compact, request made once a
state of emergency was declared.
“By
about 11 last night, we had 74 troopers on a post on the western perimeter of
the Capitol building,” says Col. Callahan.
As
police in the nation’s capital struggled to regain control Wednesday, a call
was made for assistance to neighboring states such as Virginia, Maryland, and
also New Jersey.
“I
am honored that were regarded as an agency that’s ready to mobilize that
quickly,” says Col. Callahan. “That EMAC is something that we are always ready
to respond to, it doesn’t matter if it’s Hawaii for the volcanoes, California
for wildfires. So, when the mayor put out that request through her emergency
management folks, we were at the ready.”
New
Jersey State Police have assisted in Baltimore, Houston and Puerto Rico -- as
well as other locations. The type of mutual support goes both ways.
“If
you remember after Sandy, we had employed EMAC and we had Louisiana troopers
here, Missouri troopers, troopers from all over the country,” says Col.
Callahan. “Yes, I want them to be safe first and foremost and for them to
secure the capital to make sure that the crowd is safe. They’re going to meet
back at the command post this afternoon and will know further with regards to
the length of this deployment.”
Col.
Callahan says the troopers are prepared to be in D.C. as long as they are
needed. All troopers recently took part in Mobile Field Force Training.