00:00Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and thank you to all of our witnesses here today, especially
00:04Colonel Hodges from my great state, Louisiana. Thank you for being here, sir. Thank you all
00:08for being here. In the early hours of New Year's Day, a 42-year-old U.S. citizen from Texas drove
00:17a rented Ford F-150 pickup truck into a crowd on Bourbon Street in the French Quarter. During
00:25the city's celebration, after crashing, he exited the vehicle and engaged in a shootout
00:31with law enforcement before being fatally shot by courageous New Orleans police officers who
00:37rushed to the scene. I want to take this moment to personally thank the NOPD officers, Louisiana
00:43State Police, and other first responders for the heroic action that night. Sir, we cannot
00:49thank you and those other law enforcement agents enough, for while most were running away from
00:54the danger you were running into it, and we appreciate you.
01:00This heinous act shattered the lives of victims and their families. It also exposed vulnerabilities
01:05in our urban security infrastructure and serves as a grim reminder of the evolving tactics of
01:10terrorism and terrorists and the potential for more catastrophic methods. Since that incident,
01:17I've worked with Representative Jimenez and the Department of Homeland Security, vehicular terrorism
01:23prevention and mitigation act, a critical piece of legislation designed to protect Americans from
01:29weaponized vehicles on our streets. In April, this committee passed this legislation as a proactive
01:36step towards safeguarding our citizens from the unimaginable. By enhancing our detection and response
01:42capabilities, we deter adversaries from contemplating heinous acts in our communities. I want to thank the committee
01:50for holding this hearing, and I look forward to continuing to work on ways to prevent and deter future attacks on large-scale events.
01:58Colonel Hodges, you and I know oh too well that New Orleans is the greatest city in the world to host major sporting events. Visitors stay in hotels, walk to the Superdome, they leave and walk to the French court and celebrate their team's victories, or to drink away the loss of losing to the Saints.
02:18It doesn't happen as often as we like, but it happens, and it's going to continue to happen more. This walkability combined with culture, food, and hospitality of New Orleans means that we're responsible for protecting countless mass gatherings throughout the year, Mardi Gras, Jazz Fest, French Quarter Fest, Essence Fest, Bowl games, concerts, the list goes on and on.
02:38Now, what can other cities learn from what we learned during this event while hosting World Cup matches, Olympics, and other events, and public violence as a threat?
02:52What can we share with the rest of the world of the great work that you did and how we prevent these measures going forward?
02:59Thank you for the question, Congressman. I think it's the collaboration between all branches of law enforcement or all levels, local, state, and federal. No one worried about who's getting the credit, just acting as a force multiplier.
03:15It doesn't matter who's in charge. It doesn't matter the badge or the uniform, just that we all work collectively and that we share the information.
03:24And I think we were able to do that with the help of many others who had challenges before us.
03:29We learned those lessons, and we had been working very closely throughout the year of 2024 prior to that New Year's Day, New Year's Eve attack.
03:39And we had such a strong relationship with our partners in law enforcement, it's no secret that the crime in the city of New Orleans, violent crime, was down 40% at the time of that attack.
03:50So when it did happen, and we all collectively were already there for the Sugar Bowl and New Year's Eve, everyone knew all the leaders in the room.
04:00We knew our capabilities, our limitations, and we leveraged that.
04:03And because we worked and trusted one another so much, that's how we were able to do it.
04:08Building trust and working together regardless of backgrounds, no fiefdoms, no one trying to take credit.
04:14You testified about the tragedy that struck New Orleans on New Year's morning.
04:18The terrorists had placed bombs in ice chests along Bourbon Street, which thankfully did not detonate.
04:23But a video showed people on Bourbon Street looking at the coolers and not reporting them as suspicious.
04:28How can law enforcement effectively communicate to the public to not only see things, but to say what you see when you see them?
04:36Report suspicious packages, but also let us know what you see so we can further protect.
04:46Louisiana constantly faces threat from Mother Nature.
04:49We know these things come.
04:50But those we have to deal with in many cases after the fact, before the fact.
04:55But these terrorist acts, if people see things, if someone had seen that ice chest that was just sitting there,
05:03that could have meant the difference in finding this and saving even more lives.
05:08Thankfully, those things were not detonated.
05:11But your people were on the ground.
05:14They were working with law enforcement.
05:17Having science and technology, being able to go back and trace these terrorist steps were helpful tools, correct?
05:28Yes, sir.
05:29And I don't want to leave out the importance of building community trust and also the business partners.
05:35To your point, when they see something, to message it to us before it happens, whether they're a victim of a crime or they're a witness to a crime or they see something that's out of place messaging that.
05:47And I think we've done a good job and we have to earn the public's trust each and every day.
05:51But on that particular night, because we had all the resources and all the capabilities there, once we identified those two IED, ice chest, we were quickly able to x-ray them and render them safe.
06:04And thankfully, to your point, they weren't activated because the New Orleans police officers immediately engaged a driver of that truck and he never made it to that destination.
06:12But the AI technology to rule out other potential threats because we were still trying to play the game a few hours later, end up being delayed a day.
06:22But when you think about all the number of folks that were in town and to reassure the community that was not only safe to come back to work, but safe to host that football game the following day, that trust is so important as well as the technology.
06:36So I think sometimes we overlook that piece of the puzzle, but despite all of the technology and the number of officers, deputies, troopers, agents, if you don't have that public's trust and they're not coming to you with the information, we're not successful today.
06:52Well, my time is far expired.
06:54And I thank you for your generosity.
06:55As I exit, I want to just again thank you.
06:58Thank you for the great work that you all did to protect the citizens and visitors of New Orleans.
07:03And know that this committee will do everything in our power to arm you with the technology and tools to continue doing the great work.
07:09Mr. Chairman, I yield.
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