WHITE PLAINS – Westchester
County Executive Robert Astorino said Wednesday the county’s counter-terrorism
efforts are strong.
He made his comments in the wake of Tuesday’s terror attack in Manhattan
in which eight people were killed and 12 others were injured when a man
drove a rented pickup truck into a crowd of people on a bike path.
Astorino said the county’s Department of Public Safety is constantly
monitoring all activities locally as well as around the world.
“We are monitoring, in real time, world events – chatter from
around the world – as they would potentially affect our area,”
he said. “The strategies that we employ and the training that we provide
to our police and to our fire and EMS is dynamic and is always training
in regard to what we learn from previous incidents from around the world.
Our counter-terrorism is as strong as it can be.” Since Westchester
is a member of the joint terrorism task force, members of the county police
were in Manhattan immediately after the killer committed the terrorist
act.
“Policing has changed dramatically since post-9/11,” Astorino
said.
