The satellites will still be used to gather information to help authorities deal with natural disasters such as hurricanes, and to support security planning for designated "national special security events," such as political conventions and the Super Bowl, the senior Homeland Security official said.
Homeland Security will focus on working with local and state authorities on sharing information and on expanding a pilot program launched by the LAPD to get front-line officers to better collect and share intelligence with each other and Washington, the senior official said.
Bratton agreed. "We believe that, at this time, it is these efforts that should be the priority versus the establishment of the NAO," he wrote as the representative of 56 major U.S. police departments.
Michael P. Downing, the LAPD's deputy chief for counter-terrorism and criminal intelligence, participated in the recent discussions with Homeland Security as the chiefs' association representative of police intelligence commanders. He said using the satellites to collect intelligence would have been extremely complicated, and rife with privacy and civil liberties concerns.
"What we're saying is that we have all these other issues that we need to get fixed," Downing said in an interview. "It's not dead, but de-prioritized, and we support that."
The Homeland Security official said, however, that the program is dead: "They are not going to establish the office, period. They are focusing on the priorities that the state and locals have identified."
Napolitano's decision was first reported by the Associated Press on its website. Asked for comment, Homeland Security spokeswoman Amy Kudwa said: "Secretary Napolitano began a review of the NAO early in her tenure, during which time the department engaged directly for the first time with our state and local intelligence partners on this issue. We expect to announce the results of that review shortly."
--
josh.meyer@latimes.com
