Security pro who has protected 2 Presidents prepares for Pope Francis’ NYC visit: 'I don’t want anything happening on my watch'
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
Tuesday, September 22, 2015, 2:00 AM
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JEFFERSON SIEGEL/NEW YORK DAILY NEWSNYPD Detective Kenny Farrell discusses security for the upcoming visit of the Pope to New York at police headquarters on Monday.
He’s leaving no stone — or manhole cover — unturned.
When Pope Francis makes his historic visit to New York City this week, among the people watching his back will be the cop at the heart of the NYPD’s Dignitary Protection Unit.
Detective Ken Farrell has been on protection duty for two Presidents, 20 UN General Assemblies, and now he’s preparing for his second papal visit.
And while his job is anything but simple, his mission mantra is: Never let your guard down.
Ever.
Is there a dumpster along the street that wasn’t there before? Is there new scaffolding that has to be checked? Is there now something in the road, a street closing, that will prevent a smooth turn?
Why isn’t he smiling when everyone around him is laughing?
“I’m serious about what I do,” Farrell said. “Whether I’m out with Sen. (Kirsten) Gillibrand or the President, everything I’ve been trained to do, I do it. I don’t want anything happening on my watch. The worst feeling would be I let my bosses down and I screwed up. And that’s not a good feeling. You let the city down, you let other agencies down.”
Security this week in New York will be a logistical challenge like no other.
In addition to keeping the Pope safe, cops will be looking out for President Obama and more than 170 world leaders in town for the UN General Assembly.
“All three of those at once have never been done before,” John Miller, the NYPD’s deputy commissioner of intelligence and counterterrorism told NBC’s “Today” show. “This is the single largest and most complicated security undertaking in the history of the NYPD.”
The Finest are up to the challenge, though.
Miller said the force has a “layered approach” that will utilize plainclothed officers in the background and “a network of cameras” to keep everyone safe.
However, not even the police can tell the pontiff what to do. Pope Francis, known for embracing his faithful fans, will be allowed to exit his protective Popemobile while in New York, even if the move makes cops uneasy, Miller said.
Pope Benedict XVI’s Big Apple visit was in the spring of 2008, so cops didn’t have to worry about the UN dignitaries.
Meanwhile, law enforcement is concerned that terrorists may impersonate cops, firefighters and EMTs to launch attacks, according to NBC News.
A memo distributed by authorities in Pennsylvania does not mention the Pope’s visit, but was issued just days before the event.
The Pope arrives in the city Thursday. He’ll leave Saturday morning and stop in Philadelphia before heading home to Rome on Sunday night.
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