No Special Directives Issued To SoCal Law Enforcement After Philly Officer Shooting
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com) — Authorities urged law enforcement personnel to remain vigilant Friday after an ambush shooting of a Philadelphia police officer by a gunman claiming allegiance to Islamic State militants.
The Los Angeles Police Department was aware of the shooting in Philadelphia, but has not issued any special directive to its officers, according to LAPD Officer Jane Kim.
Still, Kim said officers "are always advised to be vigilant, and to be aware of their surroundings."
"Anyone out in the field for us is required to wear body armor all the time anyway, unless there is an exemption, like for an undercover assignment," Kim said.
The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department did not issue any directives to deputies following the violence in Philadelphia, LASD spokeswoman
Nicole Nishida said.
Authorities in Philadelphia say Officer Jesse Hartnett was shot Thursday night by a man who fired almost a dozen rounds at him as he sat
in his patrol car.
Hartnett returned fire and wounded the suspect, Edward Archer of Philadelphia, who was taken into custody.
Philadelphia Police Commissioner Richard Ross Jr. said Archer "confessed to committing this cowardly act in the name of Islam. According to
him, the police defend laws that he believes are contrary to Islam."
In the wake of the shooting, New York City officials circulated a statement reminding its officers to "exercise heightened vigilance and
implement proactive measures."
There was no indication Archer had any association or contact with known radical or terrorist groups or if he had simply become radicalized on his own -- much like the husband-wife team that killed 14 people at the Inland Regional Center in San Bernardino on Dec. 2.
Federal authorities have long said such home-grown radicalism can present a particular danger, given the difficulty in detecting and tracking
suspects who choose to commit acts of violence.
On Thursday, federal authorities arrested a pair of Palestinians who were born in Iraq but were living as refugees in the United States, one in
Sacramento and the other in Houston. Both are accused of lying to immigration officials about alleged ties to terrorist groups.
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