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CNN Live At Daybreak
American, Canadian Police Chiefs in Israel
Aired January 17, 2003 - 05:08 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: American and Canadian police chiefs are right now in Israel. They're trying to learn how to fight terrorism and suicide bombers from the country that deals with terror almost every day.
Our Kelly Wallace has details on the four day session.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KELLY WALLACE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This was tough, even for American and Canadian police chiefs who have seen a lot of tough stuff, a mother remembering her two teenage girls. "They came to dance," Ella said. But that June night in 2001, Ella's girls and 19 others were killed by a suicide bomber as they waited to go inside a Tel Aviv disco.
After hearing Ella's story, the top cop in Washington, D.C. said he thought about home.
CHIEF CHARLES RAMSEY, WASHINGTON, D.C. POLICE: I think it's a possibility that something on a scale like this could always happen anywhere in the United States, not just Washington, D.C., but anywhere in the United States. I mean we have an open society. We're vulnerable to that kind of attack.
WALLACE: Ramsey says it's just a matter of time before bombings like those seen so often in Israel occur in the United States. The head of the U.S. Capitol Police agrees.
CHIEF TERRANCE GAINER, U.S. CAPITOL POLICE: With the availability of weapons that we have in the United States and even material to make explosives, it does seem like it's going to come our way.
WALLACE: It is the first field trip of its kind. More than 30 police chiefs and FBI agents from major cities in the U.S. and Canada here to learn firsthand from the Israelis how they fight terrorism. Behind closed doors, the Israelis share the lessons learned after more than 80 suicide bombings in two years.
GAINER: I think the Israeli authorities are very adept at preventing a lot of these suicide attacks and I don't think many people know about that, and also in their response. So we need to learn firsthand before it happens to us.
RAMSEY: I'm very sorry for your loss. I have a 16-year-old myself at home and I could just see him standing there waiting to go into a disco to have fun on a Friday night or a Saturday night and then have something tragic like this happen.
WALLACE: Local cops half the world away from their precincts trying to keep this nightmare from coming home.
Kelly Wallace, CNN, Tel Aviv.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired January 17, 2003 - 05:08 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: American and Canadian police chiefs are right now in Israel. They're trying to learn how to fight terrorism and suicide bombers from the country that deals with terror almost every day.
Our Kelly Wallace has details on the four day session.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KELLY WALLACE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This was tough, even for American and Canadian police chiefs who have seen a lot of tough stuff, a mother remembering her two teenage girls. "They came to dance," Ella said. But that June night in 2001, Ella's girls and 19 others were killed by a suicide bomber as they waited to go inside a Tel Aviv disco.
After hearing Ella's story, the top cop in Washington, D.C. said he thought about home.
CHIEF CHARLES RAMSEY, WASHINGTON, D.C. POLICE: I think it's a possibility that something on a scale like this could always happen anywhere in the United States, not just Washington, D.C., but anywhere in the United States. I mean we have an open society. We're vulnerable to that kind of attack.
WALLACE: Ramsey says it's just a matter of time before bombings like those seen so often in Israel occur in the United States. The head of the U.S. Capitol Police agrees.
CHIEF TERRANCE GAINER, U.S. CAPITOL POLICE: With the availability of weapons that we have in the United States and even material to make explosives, it does seem like it's going to come our way.
WALLACE: It is the first field trip of its kind. More than 30 police chiefs and FBI agents from major cities in the U.S. and Canada here to learn firsthand from the Israelis how they fight terrorism. Behind closed doors, the Israelis share the lessons learned after more than 80 suicide bombings in two years.
GAINER: I think the Israeli authorities are very adept at preventing a lot of these suicide attacks and I don't think many people know about that, and also in their response. So we need to learn firsthand before it happens to us.
RAMSEY: I'm very sorry for your loss. I have a 16-year-old myself at home and I could just see him standing there waiting to go into a disco to have fun on a Friday night or a Saturday night and then have something tragic like this happen.
WALLACE: Local cops half the world away from their precincts trying to keep this nightmare from coming home.
Kelly Wallace, CNN, Tel Aviv.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
