After 47 years in law enforcement, Amtrak Police Chief Neil Trugman is retiring, and TSA paid tribute to him at his retirement ceremony at Union Station in Washington, D.C.
TSA Surface Division Executive Director Scott Gorton and Mass Transit Industry Engagement Manager Chris McKay presented Trugman with a plaque to honor his years of service and longtime partnership with TSA.
TSA partners with Amtrak and transit law enforcement agencies around the country to keep our nation’s passenger rail system safe every day. “Chief Trugman was a member of the Transit Policing and Security Peer Advisory Group (PAG) over the last several years, and he brought significant value to the group in areas such as information sharing and intelligence,” said McKay.
McKay said the PAG brings together the expertise of transit police chiefs and security directors from mass transit systems across the U.S., Canada and United Kingdom. It acts as an effective communication tool and liaison group with TSA and other federal agencies.
“Unlike aviation, where TSA has been heavily involved in day-to-day security operations since its inception, surface transportation security has primarily been approached as a partnership with surface transportation owners and operators, because they, not TSA, are primarily responsible for their security operations,” said McKay. “To best support the security needs of surface transportation owners and operators, we focus our efforts on system assessments; voluntary operator compliance with industry standards; collaborative law enforcement and security operations; accurate and timely exchange of intelligence information and regulatory oversight.”
“TSA and Amtrak have a long-standing security partnership through programs that aim to deter terrorist activity with the goal to ‘keep bombs off trains,’” McKay noted. “This goal is accomplished by implementing an integrated security program consisting of initiatives such as expanded unpredictable security activities and law enforcement presence (notably on trains and in and around stations), increased K9 teams, well-trained employees and security exercises.”