NYPD Critical Response Surges

Ha ha ha - the NY Times reporter Michael Wilson investigates those crazy processions of police cars, sirens a-blazing we've been seeing lately, writing:

Since its debut about a month ago, it has quickly become one of New York City's hottest acts for those lucky enough to catch a free, unannounced performance. Call it "The Police Drive Fast! And Park!"

The police DO drive fast! And they do park! But in droves and droves and droves. More:

It goes something like this: On a typical block in, say, Midtown Manhattan, as many as 80 police cars quickly stream in out of nowhere, in neat rows, their lights and sirens going. The drills seem to take place on blocks with restricted parking, and each car executes a fast back-in parking job against the curb. Sometimes, depending on the block, they park perpendicular to the curb; sometimes at a slant. The officers - scores of them - get out of the cars. They do not rush into a building. They do not draw their guns. They pretty much just stand around for half an hour or so. Then, officers pile back into their cars and, again in perfect formation, the cars pull away from the curb and drive off.

The NYPD says it's part of counterterrorism efforts, timed with the Republican National Convention in a month, but the NYPD won't say anymore because it's super secret. Gothamist wonders how long squad car training is for police officers, because their parking skills during these drills, which are called "critical response surges," are exquisite.

City Rag has been on documenting the surges for a while; the above photo is from a June 23 surge.