The Political Conundrum!

This morning, Michael Downing, the Deputy Commissioner of the Los Angeles Police Department and the Commander of its Counterterrorism Bureau addressed a special Washington Institute event in Los Angeles. This event was a part of the speaker series the Institute has been running since December 2007, with senior counterterrorism officials. Commissioner Downing was the second speaker from the local law enforcement ranks, following Richard Falkenrath, the Deputy Commissioner for the NYPD, who spoke at the Institute earlier this year.

In his speech, Commissioner Downing gave a comprehensive overview of the threat, and outlined the LAPD's expanding capabilities in the counterterrorism arena. He also commented on a number of the LAPD's new initiatives in this area, and explained how the LAPD coordinates its efforts with those of the federal government. Commissioner Downing also provided a number of examples from their counterterrorism investigations to highlight both the threat and the LAPD's response.

To read Commissioner Downing's prepared remarks, click here