8:30 a.m. September 11, 2001: Washington Police Unit Holding Training Event for Upcoming IMF and World Bank Meetings

A large training event is being held at the US Park Police Aviation Unit in preparation for the upcoming meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank in Washington, DC, on September 29-30, and some of the participants will later be involved in the emergency response to the terrorist attacks. [International Monetary Fund, 9/17/2001; Reuters, 9/17/2001; US Naval Historical Center, 11/19/2001; McDonnell, 2004, pp. 18-20 ] The Park Police Aviation Unit is located in Anacostia Park in southeast Washington, across the Potomac River from the Pentagon. [Aviation International News, 10/1/2001; National Park Service, 10/16/2004]
Event Preparing for Possibly Violent Demonstrations – According to Sergeant Ronald Galey, a helicopter pilot with the aviation unit, because of the preparations taking place for the IMF and World Bank meetings, “it started out to be a little bit of an unusual day.” [US Naval Historical Center, 11/20/2001] Sergeant Keith Bohn, another Park Police helicopter pilot, will later recall, “As fate would have it, we were having a large training event right out in front of the building here [the aviation hangar in Anacostia Park] for the upcoming IMF, the International Money Fund demonstrations.” Consequently, there are “horse-mounted officers, motorcycle officers, ground troops all training together to handle the movement of large groups of people.” [US Naval Historical Center, 11/19/2001] According to Galey, “[W]e all anticipated” the protest demonstrations at the IMF and World Bank meetings “to be very violent, very different than anything we’ve had in a long time.” [US Naval Historical Center, 11/20/2001]
Helicopter Pilot Giving ‘Riot Training’ – Another of the aviation unit’s helicopter pilots, Sergeant Kenneth Burchell, is reportedly “conducting riot training… in preparation for the upcoming World Bank/International Monetary Fund protest demonstrations.” The riot training is being attended by 40 police officers belonging to an (unnamed) force other than the Park Police, along with some Department of Defense medical personnel. [McDonnell, 2004, pp. 18-20 ]
Medical Personnel Participating in Training – Personnel from the Casualty Care Research Center (CCRC)—a medical outfit from the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (USUHS) in Bethesda, Maryland—are attending the training event at the aviation unit. The CCRC provides medical support to law enforcement agencies and their “protectees” during emergencies. [US Medicine, 10/2001] One of these personnel, Jason Kepp, is reportedly teaching members of the Park Police “how to respond safely and effectively to the crowds of demonstrators expected to turn out at the upcoming meeting of the International Monetary Fund.” [USU Medicine, 12/2002 ]
Training Participants Involved in Response to Attacks – The Park Police Aviation Unit will be among the first agencies to respond to the Pentagon attack at 9:37 a.m. (see Shortly After 9:37 a.m. September 11, 2001). [Goldberg et al., 2007, pp. 161] Two medics from the USUHS who are attending the training event—Kepp and his colleague, Keith Kettell—will take off in the second Park Police helicopter to launch following the Pentagon attack, so as to assist in the emergency response. [USU Medicine, 12/2002 ; McDonnell, 2004, pp. 20 ] In addition to members of their own force, Park Police commanders will deploy the 40 police officers attending the riot training at the aviation unit when the attacks occur. [McDonnell, 2004, pp. 18 ] Members of firefighting agencies that later respond to the attack on the Pentagon are also involved in preparations for the upcoming IMF and World Bank meetings this morning (see 8:30 a.m. September 11, 2001 and 8:30 a.m. September 11, 2001). [US Department of Health and Human Services, 7/2002, pp. A-4 ; Goldberg et al., 2007, pp. 69-70]