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American Morning

Despite Calm, 4,000 Police Patrol WEF

Aired February 01, 2002 - 08:05   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.
PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: The threat of terrorism is only one of the reasons there is a huge security precedence -- presence that is -- of 4,000 police officers on the streets of midtown New York. They are keeping a watchful eye as the city plays host to the World Economic Forum. There were no major disruptions yesterday.

Now, for a look at what's going on there this morning and what we might expect, let's turn to Jason Carroll, who is standing outside of New York's Waldorf Astoria, where most of those meetings are being held -- good morning, Jason. Did you have any trouble getting in there this morning?

JASON CARROLL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, I can tell you this morning, Paula, things out here are looking pretty good. Things are pretty peaceful as they were yesterday. Security very tight out here near the Waldorf Astoria Hotel. This is what you need to get inside. This is the special I.D. that police are checking for anyone who comes into the Waldorf Astoria. In fact, and even if you are planning or work nearby, you're going to have to provide some sort of I.D. even just to get close to the Waldorf Astoria.

Lots of police out here today. Lots of police were out here as well yesterday. As you said, some 4,000 police officers out here on patrol. An additional several hundred police officers also standing by just in case they are needed.

We saw two protests out here yesterday, both of them peaceful. The largest of the two was held in front of The Gap flagship store. Representatives from various labor organizations, including the AFL- CIO, rallied in front of the store for workers' rights. They were several blocks away from the Waldorf Astoria, but the people who were out there still hope that their message got across to the attendees.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN SWEENEY, PRESIDENT, AFL-CIO: We are sending a message that workers are concerned about the effect of globalization. And workers think that the rules should include resolution of their issues, as well as capital and investment in the private sector and governments. And the only way that we think we can achieve some satisfaction for workers and their families is to be protesting.

(END VIDEO CLIP) CARROLL: More protests are planned for today, and in fact, throughout the weekend. The largest one today will be held late this afternoon by a group called the ANSWER Coalition, ANSWER standing for Act Now to Stop War and End Racism. You can expect a heavy police presence for that protest as well, Paula. But so far, so good out here at the World Economic Forum. In fact, yesterday, Mayor Bloomberg telling a group at the forum he hopes it can be held here again next year -- Paula.

ZAHN: Well, apparently Davos wants it back next year, so we'll see who wins that battle. But the New York police obviously always have to prepare for the worst. If things did get out of control, what are they prepared to do?

CARROLL: Well, I know that police are using a lot of things at their disposal, including a law, an 1845 law basically saying that anyone -- any people three or more wearing masks, police will have the option to arrest those people in case they happen to get out of hand. So again, there are a lot of police out here. They are working on 12 hour shifts. They have a lot of security preps at their disposal to use just in case things happen to get out of hand. But so far, we haven't seen any evidence of that.

ZAHN: All right. Good luck, and it's OK to pull out an umbrella at some point in the day, Jason. It looks like you need one.

CARROLL: All right.

ZAHN: All right. Thanks.

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