Republican Convention Security Preparations

ENN DAILY REPORT
EmergencyNet NEWS Service
Saturday, August 10, 1996
Vol. 2 - 223

Editor's Note: ENN is pleased to present the following highly in-depth article about the security preparations for the upcoming Republican National Convention that starts on Monday in San Diego. Because of its long length, we are presenting the article in two parts.

GOP NATIONAL CONVENTION SECURITY PLAN - PART 1
By Alijandra Mogilner, San Diego Correspondent

As an estimated 50,000 people will descend on the city of San Diego, some bringing with them a fear of terrorist bombings, chemical attacks, assassination attempts and more. While Republican National Convention officially begins on 14 August with pre-convention festivities for the primary figures on 11 August, the physical preparations for security began almost two months ago and the planning for them over a year ago. The primary concern is, and was even before the attacks on TWA and Atlanta, terrorism. By all accounts, the 18 local, state and federal law enforcement agencies led by the Secret Service, that are devising security plans for the convention have done a thorough job of preparing for the worst. But the hard reality is that even the most sweeping and aggressive security plan is no guarantee against acts of terror. However, law enforcement officials believe they have done everything possible to ensure the safety of the convention and of people who are in the city during that time.

"We want to be prepared," said Keith Enerson of the San Diego Police Department, the assistant chief who has been working on the convention security plan for more than a year. "I don't want people to think we're expecting an Armageddon, but we need to be prepared at all times."

According to Capt. David Bejarano, who is overseeing the Police Department's convention planning, all the law-enforcement agencies have been involved in daily convention security planning for more than a year. and communicating with their counterparts in Atlanta and in Chicago.

"We have developed what we believe is a very comprehensive security plan for the Convention Center and other places throughout the city," Bejarano said. "We're prepared to handle any special event throughout the city,"

Republican spokesman Tim Fitzpatrick says that the Secret Service and other law enforcement agencies have been gathering intelligence continuously. "We're using the best high-tech security equipment we can come across and the best security experts from around the country to prevent such incidents," he added.

Security will be especially tight: from 2 p.m. to 11 p.m. on the final evening of the convention when the GOP presidential candidate gives his acceptance speech -- the only night Dole is certain to be in the convention hall; on Wednesday from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. when Dole is scheduled to meet with veterans with whom he served; and on Wednesday morning from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. when Newt Gingrich is to give his only scheduled speech. That 10 minutes in front of representatives of the nationªs agribusiness is a focus because of Iranian threats in February against the Speaker's life.

General Preparations:

San Diego police expect to have the full force, about 2,000 officers, working 12-hour shifts throughout convention week. Most of them will be on convention duty. For example, prosecutor Gael Strack said 15 detectives will be pulled from the Police Department's domestic violence unit for two weeks to beef up security. MaryAnne Pintar, spokeswoman for Mayor Susan Golding, said the city budgeted an extra $500,000 to cover police overtime during the convention.

Officers from local, state and federal law enforcement agencies from the FBI to the Metropolitan Transit Board have been assigned to provide protection for dignitaries and security at the convention center, the protest zone, and outside residential and meeting sites.

Hundreds of traffic officers will direct the masses and assist motorcades. Vice detectives will be on the lookout for prostitutes and pickpockets. Intelligence detectives will gather information, and SWAT teams will be on standby, hoping they're not needed. Additionally, the San Diego Police Department has offered the services of hundreds of volunteers, including members of the Retired Senior Citizens Patrol and the Volunteers in Policing.

The Secret Service will protect the presidential and vice presidential nominees and spouses as well as former presidents and spouses. The California Highway Patrol will escort the 31 Republican governors and the international diplomats expected to attend the convention. Protection for the estimated 200 members of the Senate and House will be provided by the U.S. Capitol Police.

SWAT teams and Secret Service agents visited every major hotel from Coronado to Carlsbad, as well as dozens of party venues, taking an inventory of every door, elevator, rooftop and basement. Site surveys were taken on every place that officials felt could be a target. Every exit has been noted, roof access has been analyzed and floor plans have been gathered. Distances have been measured, photographs taken and files created. Authorities now know how to shut off power and water. Those in charge of the command center know how to contact the owner and the manager and have designated the best places to put police sharpshooters.

In the past year, law enforcement officers countywide underwent hundreds of hours in training on everything from X-ray machines to crowd control and the First Amendment rights of demonstrators. There even was a class in which officers were shown photos of unfamiliar uniforms, credentials and badges, such as those used by the Capitol Police.

Police leased almost 200 pieces of X-ray equipment and metal detectors, including walk-through, hand-held and conveyer-belt detectors. The equipment will be used to search boats docked in the area and to screen anyone entering the convention center and protest areas.

Local security firms early this summer also received requests for help at the convention site. One company was hired by the television networks to protect broadcasting equipment.

Several command centers will serve as makeshift police stations. The main one, which will hold prisoners in the event of mass arrests, is at the Naval Training Center near the airport.

The estimated 50,000 visitors to San Diego include 12,000 to 14,000 members of the media and almost 8,000 delegates, alternates, guests and VIPs -- all attending hundreds of gatherings around the county. However the convention site itself will be the primary target for security forces. The convention center has several problems that are unique to this site and this year.

* 1. The setting itself is very vulnerable. Besides the usual tall buildings and hotels that give easy access to the site, the convention center sits on the water front at San Diego Harbor. The harbor entry is a busy one that serves up to a thousand small boats a day and the waterway is deep enough to accommodate the Navy's largest ships. It would be impossible to check every boat that has access to the larger harbor area and, even if the waterway close to the convention is tightly regulated, this gives uncontrollable access to the area.

The U.S. Coast Guard as the agency drafting the plan for a security zone encompassing the marina area behind the San Diego Convention Center. The Coast Guard is developing the plan at the request of the U.S. Secret Service. The enforced zone in the waters directly behind the center, encompasses the four southernmost docks, which together house more than 100 boats.

Those boats serve as living quarters for a number of people comedian Jerry Lewis and director Larry Goodman. The Secret Service wanted to bar access to these boats, or have them moved, before and during the convention. Both businesses in the area which are dependent on the boat people, and the boaters themselves, objected. So, security had to compromise: those that have boats at the marinas have to have special credentials and must personally escort guests from approach areas to their boat.

While this will give security a chance to observe and/or deal with those who are in the area, this will be almost impossible during events such as the public fireworks when boaters have already planned parties for friends to watch the display. The Coast Guard and San Diego Harbor Police are having boaters with slips near the convention site pass through a checkpoint where they'll be subject to search as will their boats. Background checks have also been conducted on the people who occupy slips near the convention center, law enforcement sources said.

Another problem is the use of outdoor venues. The GOP intends to use the center's driveway and a divided stretch of the street immediately in front of the building as the center's "lobby" where guests can mingle and queue up during the convention. Additionally, rooftop gatherings will only be protected by canvas sails that act as a roof for the area, but does not screen the view of the area totally from nearby skyscrapers.

* 2. The budget is painfully strained. The GOP convention is the most expensive in history -- and it has gone $20 million dollars over budget. The task of transforming the waterfront facility into a political village built around an enormous television set is costing about $30 million -- in part because of beefed up security measures following the attack on TWA Flight 800. The extra $20 million was to be raised by the Republican National Committee, a California Republican group, Mayor Susan Golding, and Governor Pete Wilson. Wilson, however, has backed out of his commitment to raise $3 million.

As a result, some fear that it is the invisible security measures they planed to add after the TWA attack that will suffer. In retaliation Wilson, who hoped to use the convention to further his drive to be the next GOP candidate for President has been relegated to an 8 minute speech on Monday morning. But, as one official observed, that won't do much to further security. The only thing that would help is for that amount of money to be made up so that we can afford the extra security measures. Official spokespeople for the convention say that the deficit will not affect security and all measures will be taken.

* 3. The surprise rally/mini-convention to be held by Pat Buchanan in nearby Escondido creates special challenges. A tribute dinner for Pat Buchanan, the conservative scheduled to take place at the California Center for the Arts, in Escondido on Sunday, August 11 has turned into a possible announcement of his candidacy for President on a third party ticket. Aware that Buchanan may draw protesters, and in light of the Atlanta explosion, police had already beefed up their security plan to include bomb-sniffing dogs, increased training and education, and additional patrols around the center's perimeter.

Police patrols with bomb-sniffing dogs will make regular sweeps of the center's expansive site next to City Hall. In addition, both police and center security staff will be provided with bomb-recognition training, as well as procedures to follow in case a potential bomb is spotted. Also as a security measure, several streets around the center will be closed off during the late afternoon. Copying another page from San Diego's security plan, Escondido police have also designated a protest site for the potential demonstrators, and are requiring each group to get a special permit.

However, officials are now extremely concerned with the change from a dinner to a possible mini-Presidential convention. Additionally, Secret Service agents will now have to join Capitol Police in protecting Buchanan since he is a possible candidate, shorting the staff that is on duty in San Diego proper.

ENN DAILY REPORT
EmergencyNet NEWS Service
Sunday, August 11, 1996
Vol. 2 - 224

Editor's Note: This is the second and concluding part of a fine article written by Alijandra Mogilner, from San Diego, on the security preparations for the Republican National Convention, which begins tomorrow. ENN thanks Alijandra for this in-depth effort.

GOP NATIONAL CONVENTION SECURITY PLAN - PART 2
By Alijandra Mogilner, ENN San Diego Correspondent

* 4. Special protest groups within and outside of the party Anti-abortionists and pro-abortionists, homosexuals, Mexican activists, the handicapped and the homeless are among 65 groups that have received permits to demonstrate at the convention. The GOP and some security agencies wanted the protest site several blocks away from the center, but the protesters argued that it was too far and sued for First Amendment rights and won. The groups would have had a First Amendment right to protest on the sidewalk in front of the convention center, but a security plan calls for a buffer around the building. Now the site will be directly across from the convention center door but across a major highway. Another site is also allowed close to the hotels in the immediate area that are expected to house most of the primary delegates.

San Diego Police Department officials and the Secret Service championed the site eventually picked as actually being the most secure available, in part because it would put protesters so close to the convention that they would have little incentive to stray. The site was moved due to pressure from the GOP. Under terms of the city's contract with the RNC, the committee allegedly has veto power over the protest site and did not want such easy access to conventioneers who will be using the outdoor area in front of the center as a gathering place.

Among the topics of discussion created by the move is an earlier decision by city officials not to install metal detectors at the official protest site. Now that the demonstrators will be so close, the added protection may be considered to be necessary. The original decision had been made because officials felt that metal detectors are unfeasible because of the need to move large groups of protesters in and out of the area quickly. The high cost of the machines, at $100,000 a piece, was a secondary factor. The site will be patrolled continuously by police and surrounded by a wire fence.

Outside of the immediate area of the convention, the primary security concerns about protesters are largely focused on the anti-abortionists. Law enforcement agencies quietly suggested that San Diego-area physicians and clinics that perform abortions consider "taking a vacation" during the GOP convention to avoid violent confrontations when thousands of abortion foes are expected to demonstrate in the city. Some physicians say they are taking the suggestion to heart. But officials with Planned Parenthood and WomanCare, two major clinics providing abortions in San Diego, say they have no intention of shutting down. The heads of the clinics have been advised by police to wear a bulletproof vest during the convention.

WomanCare, a health center that provides abortions, has trained volunteers to protect the clinic and its patients from protesters. Besides recruiting more than 200 volunteer escorts for rotating shifts, WomanCare also is raising funds to hire extra security guards, a precaution Phillips estimated will cost $35,000.

Operation Right to Life says that thousands of protesters from across the country are expected to descend on San Diego during the convention. Even though the local committee says fears of violence are ludicrous, there has been one bombing and several personal assaults by local activists in the past and out of area participants are unknown quantities. One analyst says, ªViolence is often exported. The anonymity provided makes someone bent on violence feel more secure and able to get away with things that would be impossible where they might be recognized.

Anti-abortion protests are additionally problematic since a Japanese television station is doing a special investigative report on the extreme right wing in the US concentrating on the militias and Operation Right to Life. They are expected to be taping the protests during the convention.

* 5. The convention was targeted in specific terrorist threats that must be taken seriously. Letters sent to the government and to some news papers claimed the TWA attack was the third in a string of four and the fourth one would come soon. If the threats are authentic, and officials are acting on the possibility that they are, many feel that the convention will be the target of that attack.

The Iranian government already made an official threat against House Speaker Newt Gringrich and suggested that the convention would create an excellent chance to make that threat good. Four military officers have been working for House Speaker Newt Gingrich since March, and are believed to be part of the government's program for protecting him, along with agents from the Capitol Police and intelligence agencies. Even though Gingrich is only officially scheduled to appear in San Diego for about 10 minutes and is under heavy personal guard, the convention itself may become the symbolic target.

"Can you imagine," said one military analyst, "the image of the convention center being attacked within full view of our nation's largest Naval base at North Island. The symbol of our nation as impotent against terrorism is almost impossible for these kind of terrorists to pass up, even without such direct threats."

Specific measures being taken:

On site controls: Security preparations have been, like all the other security measures, a process of compromise with the city and with the Republican Party. Even the start date at the San Diego Convention Center was a compromise. Due to the Comicon, the nation's largest comic collector's convention held at the center every year, the GOP and various security forces involved in protecting the convention, only had 35 days to prepare the convention hall.

The convention center staff will continue to work from the administrative offices at the building's north end, but the rest of the 670,000 square feet of display and work space is the sole province of the Republicans.

The contract the RNC signed with San Diego reportedly gives it 24-hour- a-day "unlimited access and exclusive control" of all rooms, furnishings, equipment and personal property customarily present in the center. The RNC takes possession of the center's keys, controls access to additional copies and can request that locks be changed. There were also tests and special inspections of elevators, escalators and emergency systems

The RNC has taken possession of the Marriott Hotel parking lots adjacent to the convention center and of parts of the adjacent public park. Media work space is being built in the garage, which will be closed to vehicles during the convention for security reasons. Television and video security trailers will dot the overflow parking lot south of the center and the Marriott Hotel parking lots closest to San Diego Bay. A special pavilion and gazebo will be built over the basketball courts in Embarcadero South Park to house a special party for those 16 to 25 who will attend. The RNC would not discuss security measures there.

The RNC also is taking control of the overflow parking lot and the former USO building at the center's south edge, which is designated as a security command post during the convention.

Security observation and response facilities were included from the first week of work when the main hall's sky boxes, remote cameras, lighting systems and elevated seating were installed. "Virtually every area in the center will be under surveillance," said one worker. "We even expect the podium and platform, which is being built in Dallas, to have special equipment imbedded in it."

The Secret Service even has a secret office within a few blocks of the convention. Disguised as an attorney's office, the site is expected to be a high-tech nerve center for protecting convention goers. Sophisticated communications gear, enabling agents to talk with almost anyone in the world, is thought to be in place.

Besides the machinery of security, security governing convention personnel will be beefed up during the coming weeks, though the center's blue-coated guards will stay on the job, working under the RNC. "There will be a more elaborate information gathering on who will enter the building," Wallace said. "You won't have a situation where people are wandering through." One example of the change is that the press room, normally open to journalists who need to use phones and faxes, is closed until after the convention ends.

Control of other convention sites: The weak link in Atlanta proved to be Centennial Park, the least-protected area of an Olympic security effort that had been touted as the biggest peacetime security operation in U.S. history.

Law enforcement officials in San Diego acknowledge that while the primary focus of their security plan has been the waterfront convention center, the Atlanta bombing raises new concerns about convention activities held in other venues.

"Obviously there will be venues that won't be protected," said Joseph J. Perez, special agent in charge of the San Diego office of the Secret Service, noting that hundreds of parties and meetings are scheduled during the convention. "We are going to try and get public awareness up," Perez said. "We need the public to look for something out of the ordinary." Perez declined to discuss what measures will be taken to ensure the safety of conventioneers attending events outside the convention center.

A law enforcement source close to security planning said it is likely that police will bring in sophisticated, hand-held explosives detectors and bomb-sniffing dogs to check out these areas. Planners may also decide to expand the security zone and restrict entry to some areas surrounding events.

These events include:

-- "Sail to San Diego Celebrity Golf Tournament Weekend," with playing slots going from $250,000 up to $2.8 million

-- A day at Del Mar for the sixth running of the $1 million Pacific Classic, hosted by Allen Paulson, owner of Cigar, the 1995 Horse of the Year.

-- A Saturday-night reception and pairings party at the Del Mar Country Club.

-- luncheons ranging from a few -- to a few thousand.

-- A series of nautical "happenings" -- "round the clock, every day, breakfast, lunch, dinner, after-hours cocktails" -- aboard a 110-foot yacht docked in the harbor.

-- A "wrap-up" party for a select 300, including former Presidents Bush and Ford.

Part of the security for these events is "planned uncertainty". Until the last minute, most of 150 vendors, such as caterers, will not be informed of where many of these activities will take place. Many, but not all of them, know that they will be doing them, but not where. "This is the most bizarre big-time situation I've ever encountered," said one professional party giver, "That for this many parties we don't know where we're having them or how many people we're having . . . This is not normal."

The hotels where guests will be staying are under scrutiny as well. Staffs have had background checks, rooms have been swept for bugs and screened for explosives. Even those who are simply guests at the convention are under protection. For example, employees of the Doubletree Hotel Del Mar, where about 90 diplomats are staying, have all been screened. The diplomats, who will be observers at the convention, will travel from event to event in three buses, with two California Highway Patrol escorts.

All 173 embassies in Washington were invited to take part in the convention. Usually, if the ambassador or charge d'affaires cannot make it, another representative is permitted. This year, however, that provision was axed because of limited space and security issues.

Not so public precautions:

There are also reports that one of the observation satellites being used to identify forest fires in the west has been reprogrammed to keep an eye on the desert area east of San Diego, presumably to help spot any kind of possible terrorist gathering or emplacement.

The Marine Corps at 29 Palms in the same area are expected to go on exercises in the desert concurrently with the convention.

Navy exercises headed by the Aircraft Carrier Kitty Hawk will take place about five miles off the shore and crossing the harbor access route. Additionally, the carrier Constellation will be docked at North Island Naval Station as a symbol of the presence of the US military. It is believed that plenty of military manpower will be on hand, should it be needed.

In some late breaking news concerning the convention:

Inside sources told ENN on Saturday that a "device" was allegedly found at the 32nd Street Naval Station about a week ago, where some of the conventioneers are staying. Those who are ex-military can stay at a lodge on base and many of the delegates are taking advantage of that service. A Haz-Mat worker at the base said, "The was a complete bomb found at the Exchange building, but it was not hooked up. It was a message that they were there and could do it again. As a result, security will be heightened."

(Editors Note: On 08/12/96, a base Naval Public Affairs spokesperson reportedly denied the finding of any such a device near the commissary building within the past ten days, but did state that a "hoax incident" had occured that involved "someone's laundry", in about the same time frame. ENN sources continue to maintain that there was a "situation" and that there was an evacuation of the base commissary and another nearby building, as a "device" was removed. The suspected box allegedly contained "dangerous materials", but was not wired correctly.)

One security analyst summed up the overall preparations for ENN; "You can bet that if the technology is currently available that it is being deployed in San Diego...in light of current threat assessments, this convention could be high on the list of some terror organizations...they (security forces) are working extremely hard here to prevent that."

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