NJFFSA16
05-21-2003, 04:52 AM
MIDDLETOWN, Conn. (AP) - The city is changing its policies
regarding terrorism threats after a dispatcher did not report a
call about a bomb threat at Bradley International Airport.
The dispatcher received a call Saturday night from an elderly
woman who said someone had threatened to bomb her plane on Sunday,
The Middletown Press and The Hartford Courant reported in
Wednesday's editions.
Though the dispatcher, Joe Monarca, repeatedly offered to send
an officer to the woman's home, the caller refused. And Monarca
never relayed the information to officials at the Windsor Locks
airport.
When the woman told airport authorities about the threat on
Sunday, officials grounded the Iowa-bound plane for 30 minutes, the
paper reported.
Middletown Mayor Domenique Thornton said the FBI had determined
there was no terrorist threat relating to the call, although a
spokesperson for the FBI was unavailable to confirm if the threat
had been dismissed or was still under investigation.
The FBI is reviewing the woman's initial 911 call, which was
fielded by the city's central communication's department - an
independent unit serving police, fire and emergency medical
response units.
Because of the incident, however, the city has changed its
policies regarding terrorist threats, officials said. Dispatchers
are to take all terrorist-like activity seriously, and police will
be dispatched to investigate all terrorism threats.
The new procedures went into effect Monday, officials said.
Officials said Monarca will face no disciplinary action.
Several city officials said the 911 call was handled properly.
"We didn't have a protocol in place for what to do in case of
an Anthrax threat until we got our first call about suspicious
white substance," said James Milardo, director of Middletown's
communications center. "Times have changed. There are different
situations and threats we have to learn to respond to."
(Copyright 2003 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
regarding terrorism threats after a dispatcher did not report a
call about a bomb threat at Bradley International Airport.
The dispatcher received a call Saturday night from an elderly
woman who said someone had threatened to bomb her plane on Sunday,
The Middletown Press and The Hartford Courant reported in
Wednesday's editions.
Though the dispatcher, Joe Monarca, repeatedly offered to send
an officer to the woman's home, the caller refused. And Monarca
never relayed the information to officials at the Windsor Locks
airport.
When the woman told airport authorities about the threat on
Sunday, officials grounded the Iowa-bound plane for 30 minutes, the
paper reported.
Middletown Mayor Domenique Thornton said the FBI had determined
there was no terrorist threat relating to the call, although a
spokesperson for the FBI was unavailable to confirm if the threat
had been dismissed or was still under investigation.
The FBI is reviewing the woman's initial 911 call, which was
fielded by the city's central communication's department - an
independent unit serving police, fire and emergency medical
response units.
Because of the incident, however, the city has changed its
policies regarding terrorist threats, officials said. Dispatchers
are to take all terrorist-like activity seriously, and police will
be dispatched to investigate all terrorism threats.
The new procedures went into effect Monday, officials said.
Officials said Monarca will face no disciplinary action.
Several city officials said the 911 call was handled properly.
"We didn't have a protocol in place for what to do in case of
an Anthrax threat until we got our first call about suspicious
white substance," said James Milardo, director of Middletown's
communications center. "Times have changed. There are different
situations and threats we have to learn to respond to."
(Copyright 2003 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)