It’s been 10 years since America woke up the morning of Sept.
11, 2001 to news that the country was under attack. As the World
Trade Center towers came down to everyone’s shock, the city of
Gilroy began its grieving process with the rest of the country.
It’s been 10 years since America woke up the morning of Sept. 11, 2001 to news that the country was under attack. As the World Trade Center towers came down to everyone’s shock, the city of Gilroy began its grieving process with the rest of the country.
Since then, local first-responders recall with humility the gratitude shown by their communities, and the far-reaching legacy of those attacks reflects itself, in part, by how we might respond if something similar happens again.
And a decade removed, local law enforcement agencies still aren’t the same.
“There’s a lot of different things that have changed,” said Sgt. Chad Gallacinao of the Gilroy Police Department, citing increased sharing of information between agencies as the most significant aspect. “Overall, law enforcement is doing a better job than pre-9/11.”
The GPD has received access to almost a half-million dollars worth of equipment in the last year thanks to grants from the Department of Homeland Security, an agency created following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
From the grants came a $285,000 armored tactical vehicle – the BearCat – and a $200,000 emergency radio frequency and its necessary equipment upgrades – both of which GPD shares with the Morgan Hill Police Department and the Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Department.
The GPD rolled out the BearCat during the Gilroy City Council retreat this past January, eliciting gleeful reactions from city officials. It wasn’t long before a South County S.W.A.T. team put the monstrous Hummer-like vehicle to use.
On Feb. 5, officers arrested two Chico murder suspects hiding out in a tucked away condominium on Monterey Road in Gilroy. An ensuing standoff lasted three hours, and one S.W.AT. member boomed through the vehicle’s amplified system, “We know you’re in there.”
Along with the intimidating and innovative vehicles, South County law enforcement’s new radio frequency system is also expected to play an integral role.
The system allows different agencies their own specific channels, but will streamline the process of exchanging information during times of crises, Gallacinao said.
The $200,000 grant also pays for updated radios and has already allowed for the installation of new antennas and receivers.
“It can be used for something as extreme as a terrorist event in South County, or a serious incident such as a S.W.A.T. call out, or something routine like patrol activities needing outside assistance,” Gallacinao said.
Each year, select GPD officers are also trained and recertified in what is known as an Incident Command System, which is required honing for officers who may encounter “hot zones,” where they handle chemical or biological equipment. The Incident Command System was crafted by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the Department of Homeland Security’s disaster response arm.
“There are certain people who are identified and trained on that,” said Gallacinao.
Six years before the BearCat rolled into the GPD, a $300,000 Homeland Security grant purchased the Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Office Bomb Squad van, also referred to as a Total Containment Vessel.
Officers can use the vehicle’s X-ray vision to scan suspicious packages or can destroy them using a high-powered water stream. In March 2005, the Sheriff’s department tested the vessel and held related trainings in a warehouse at Christopher Ranch in Gilroy.
Though there may not be an immediate threat to Gilroy of terrorist attacks compared with condensed metropolitan areas such as New York City, the Garlic Capital is still prepared with regional agencies on stand-by.
Hollister resident Brad Klemek was recruited to join FEMA’s Urban Search and Rescue Task Force 3, one of 28 regional task forces that can be deployed in times of natural disaster or for national security reasons.
The medical exam to qualify was extensive.
He said the thorough exam is to make sure that task force members are healthy, but also so that if health problems do arise it’s easier to trace the cause.
Klemek didn’t know anyone directly involved in responding to the terrorist attacks 10 year ago, but he said it still hit home because of his work in fire service since 1985.
“It’s always a case when a firefighter goes down, it rattles everyone,” he said. “It’s always in the back (of your mind.)”
Klemek joined the task force two years ago, though not been deployed but his unit has been ramping up their training in preparation for an assignment in November. They will attend the Asian Pacific Economic Cooperation Summit in Hawaii, providing extra security for President Obama’s visit.
“What we need to take away from 9/11 is that we are not in control,” Klemek said. “We need to say enough is enough and take responsibility for our families and neighbors.”
For the Santa Clara Valley Water District security was heightened after the attacks.
“It really transformed at our security measures,” said Marty Grimes, spokesperson for the Santa Clara Valley Water District. “We had to curtail a lot of the tours that we do.”
A special security update in 2002 let the public know of water facilities changes.
“In addition to assuring the public that we are taking prudent steps to respond to all potential threats to our water supply, we are asking for your assistance in reporting any unusual activity around water district facilities in your area,” read the update.
Added are around-the-clock security guards at water treatment plants and pumping stations, video monitoring, intrusion detection and alarm systems, as well as consistent badge checks of employees. Also enacted were revised security procedures including responses to bomb threats and continued water testing.
While Gilroy City Councilman Perry Woodward said he appreciates the work of police officers and firefighters – whom he call “heroes” for their work during 9/11 – he added security measures nationwide have caused dramatic change, “and not one for the better, I say.”
“There is a much greater willingness to accept intrusions in our lives in the interest of safety,” Woodward said. “The things we put up with now, we would have never put up with 10 years ago.”
Considering the magnitude of the 9/11 attacks, however, Woodward said the country has at least maintained the core freedoms that made it special.
Woodward, who has a pilot’s license, said, “The skies are still, for the most part, free. You can get to a small airport, in a plane, and fly to Maine and never talk to anyone. It’s about how much has not changed.”
“The terrorists did not win. They did not change the American way of life,” Woodward added. “I think that says something.”
