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Dallas shootings turn focus to security for CMPD officers

By Paul Boyd
By Paul Boyd

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The tragic shooting in Dallas is raising questions about how local enforcement will approach security for major events and protests going forward.

Channel 9's Paul Boyd discovered there will very likely be changes.

"We now have a known, credible, foreseeable threat. Going forward law enforcement has to plan, prepare and mitigate that threat," explained Ross Bulla, an internationally recognized security expert who lives in Charlotte.

Bulla worked with the Charlotte Mecklenburg Police Department and the Secret Service to help protect uptown during the 2012 convention.

Police were widely applauded for how they handled protesters that year and also in the wake of the Randall Kerrick trial.

But Bulla said the ambush in Dallas will mean changes to Charlotte's security plans for future protests and events.

The security expert said rooftops and high vantage points, like the parking garage used in Dallas, are the number one security concern when crowds gather.

Those locations on high ground have been a central focus for agencies like the Secret Service ever since the assassination of President Kennedy.

Bulla said local law enforcement will now start implementing the same strategy and deploy their own counter snipers.

He believed local police will use more manpower to block access to potential "sniper nests" in high buildings and elevated parking garages.

"What's going to happen now is you're going to put a uniformed officer there or a security officer there and take away the opportunity," Bulla said.

Channel 9 asked CMPD Chief Kerr Putney about his security strategy for officers going forward.

"I'm not going to talk specifics. Just know that we're going to take care of ourselves as we take care of our public," said Putney.

Bulla said Charlotte police have an outstanding track record of handling protests and major events.

"I have a lot of confidence that they can place law enforcement officers at vantage points to counter the threat," said Bulla.

Cox Media Group

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