Los Angeles: Two weeks to the day after the London terrorist bombings, a smaller incident occurred in London around  5:20 AM, Pacific Daylight savings time.  Emergency contingencies were quickly activated locally, but there was no specific threat to the Los Angeles area.

Assistant Chief Jim McDonnell, who is the acting chief while Chief William Bratton is out of town, met at 7:30 this morning with Mr. Padilla and spoke with representatives from the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department.  The LAPD Bureau Chiefs were briefed in a conference call at the same time.  The LAPD’s Department Operations Center (DOC) was activated, and the Department was placed on a Modified Tactical Alert status, which allows the DOC to hold over the release of officers from their shifts without a disruption to routine police duties.

Assistant Chief McDonnell directed additional visible patrols around critical sites and around public transportation hubs.  “The DOC will remain activated until we are comfortable the potential need for extra officers has gone away,” said Assistant Chief McDonnell.  “Most Angelenos will not even notice any change in their city, but everyone should feel confident that everything is being done to ensure their safety.”

Deputy Chief Michael Berkow was in London with three other Los Angeles Police Department officers studying the bombings from two weeks ago.  He contacted Chief Bratton, who is in Chicago, at 5:22 AM PDT.  Chief Bratton immediately notified Mayor Villaraigosa, who is in Washington, D.C., and City Council President Alex Padilla, who is the Mayor Pro Tem.

Coincidentally, Chief Bratton is meeting in Chicago with police chiefs from several cities, including Chicago, Las Vegas, Washington, D.C., and the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department at a Police Executive Research Form (PERF) conference on anti-terror intelligence networking.  They hope to create a network to better share and disseminate information quickly among member cities. 

London had planned to attend, but pulled out due to the bombings two weeks ago.