Austin city officials say have no plans to ratchet up security following the death of Osama Bin Laden and concerns that Islamist radicals could stage reprisal attacks against the United States. But Police Chief Art Acevedo is urging people to report any suspicious activity. He said that over the next week or two, residents should expect more uniformed police officers patrolling the city's streets.
"For two reasons," Acevedo said. "We want to increase our visibility. Through that increased visibility, we want to give people an extra sense of comfort, and most importantly we want our officers to be prepared to respond to any eventuality."
City Manager Marc Ott was careful to stress that any actions taken by the city to this point are only precautionary.
"We're not here to incite panic or anything like that," Ott said. "We believe what we're doing today, in terms of notifying residents, is the responsible thing to be doing."
"We're not saying that any kind of threat is imminent or anything along those lines," he said. "But it is important that we're all mindful, and we're all vigilant, and we're all watchful in regard to anything that might be suspicious."
Assistant City Manager Mike McDonald also noted that Austin-Bergstrom operations will also remain as usual unless otherwise notified by TSA.
