America started the new year reeling from the news of a terrorist attack in New Orleans.
Two weeks later, Gov. Kevin Stitt issued an executive order launching the Secure Oklahoma Now Initiative and advisory council. They released their first public guidelines for large event organizers Thursday afternoon.
The Secure Oklahoma NOW, or 'Not on Our Watch,' initiative is meant to be a preemptive effort to secure large-scale events in Oklahoma before a terrorist attack happens.
State public safety, emergency management, law enforcement and counter-terrorism experts were tasked with forming a terrorism prevention advisory council and creating a written guide to help public and private large event organizers maintain a standardized set of terror prevention guidelines.
At a press conference announcing the guidelines, Stitt said the mid-January executive order is part of his effort to ensure that, while Oklahoma becomes more business-friendly, it also becomes a safe place for people to move.
"Just days ago… in Boulder, Colorado, some anti-Semitic person was flame-throwing a group of probably mostly Jewish Americans that were there you know, peacefully protesting, and so we're just seeing some of these kinds of attacks happen," Stitt said. "And as we look forward to the big events here in Oklahoma, I just want to make…we're as well-prepared as we can be to address any of these threats."
Stitt mentioned the NBA Finals game tipping off Thursday night between the Oklahoma City Thunder and Indiana Pacers as a perfect example of when this guideline would come in handy.
Public Safety Commissioner Tim Tipton said that while state authorities already tasked with securing such events are effective, having everyone on the same page and employing the help of regular citizens is paramount.
The first version of the guide is publicly available on the state public safety and homeland security websites.
Tipton said it covers two main areas:
"The first one, of course, is prevention," he said. "What can we do to stop the threat from happening before somebody is harmed?
"But then we also have to be prepared for response," Tipton continued. "If that bad thing happens, then, how do we respond? How do we mitigate the amount of damage or harm or hurt?"
Tipton leads what's called the Oklahoma N.O.W. Advisory Council. Other members include:
- Tricia Everest, Cabinet Secretary of Public Safety
- Rohit Rai, Director of the Oklahoma Office of Homeland Security
- Tommie Johnson, Oklahoma County Sheriff
- Michael Merritt, Comanche County Sheriff
- Ron Bacy, Chief of the Oklahoma City Police Department
- JD Younger, Chief of Edmond Police Department
- Nate Tarver, Chief of the University of Oklahoma Police Department
- Michael Baker, Chief of the Tulsa Fire Department
- Annie Vest, Director of the Oklahoma Department of Emergency Management
- Allan Young, Director of the Oklahoma Counter Terrorism Intelligence Center
- Laurel Roberts, Tulsa Commissioner of Public Safety
Tipton says the guide is meant to help organizers answer those questions. It will be published annually, with updates as threats and technologies evolve.
