Phil Matier: The Process Of Shutting Down A City
SAN FRANCISCO (KCBS)—The manhunt for one of the Boston Marathon bombing suspects has a city of over a million people on a citywide lockdown and is prompting discussion on San Francisco authorities would handle a similar situation.
Former San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown said this is the first time he's seen anything like this but said that local law enforcement could do a whole city lockdown. According to Police Chief Greg Suhr, such a lockdown would be with the voluntary cooperation of citizens.
Phil Matier: The Process of a San Francisco Lockdown
This happened during 9-11, when police were dispatched of every school and employers were urged to let their workers go home. Tunnels were closed and Muni was shut down. All that happened within an hour.
Brown said there are emergency plans in place that include programs to protect San Francisco's citizens.
A lockdown such as the one in Boston has two purposes. One, is to clear the streets so it is easier to spot activity but also, it's to minimize the amount of rumors that can take place with different people reporting what's happening. They want to control the space and they are getting people to do it voluntarily.
The average citizen in Boston is cooperating and that's the key to everything that has been happening there since the marathon bombing.
You can hear Phil Matier's comments Monday through Friday at 7:50am and 5:50pm on KCBS All News 740AM and 106.9FM.
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