New York City Has Too Much Traffic For a Berlin-Style Truck Attack, NYPD Counterterrorism Chief Says

Turns out gridlock might actually be a lifesaver.

byAaron Brown|
New York City Has Too Much Traffic For a Berlin-Style Truck Attack, NYPD Counterterrorism Chief Says
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Twelve people were killed and 48 were injured on Monday, when someone crashed a truck into a crowd at a Christmas market in Berlin in what the German government says appears to have been a terrorist attack. Following the incident, United States cities such as Chicago, Boston, and New York have tightened security around holiday-related events—but a high-ranking New York police official thinks there's already a factor in play that would prevent a similar style of attack from hitting his streets.

NYPD Deputy Commissioner of Intelligence and Counterterrorism John Miller believes that the thick, intense traffic New Yorkers regularly have to deal with provide an extra layer of security against vehicle-based attacks.

“It’s hard to get up to speed to run anybody over,” said Miller on MSNBC’s Morning Joe on Tuesday, according to AM New York.

Even with that sense of security, Deputy Commissioner Miller said he has ordered 500 uniformed counterterrorism officers to be out and about in NYC Tuesday, and also explained the NYPD has detailed methods for dealing with and preventing truck attacks and similar terror events. On top of all that, it's worth noting that there are currently no immediate threats to New York City, AM New York reported.

Anti-terrorism police with the NYPD's Critical Response Command and other units have been strategically placed around the city at "high-profile locations," AM New York reports. That sort of action on the NYPD's part is common following major terrorist attacks of this nature at any place around the planet. 

“The NYPD is monitoring the events in Germany and around the world,” officials said in a statement, according to AM New York. “In the coming days, we will look to learn more about what occurred to inform the NYPD’s operations, deployments, and training of officers.”

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