New Orleans will be the 'safest city in America' for Super Bowl LIX, officials say
With more than 2,500 law enforcement officers from the state, local and federal law enforcement agencies, New Orleans will be the "safest city in America," according to the lead federal coordinator for Super Bowl security.
"We will have more federal assets, more federal law enforcement, more state and local law enforcement, probably, than any other Super Bowl," New Orleans Homeland Security Investigations Special Agent in Charge Eric DeLaune told ABC News.
DeLaune said that in the aftermath of the New Year's Day terrorist attack -- when a man inspired by ISIS drove his truck down Bourbon Street -- federal officials reviewed the security plans "and see where we can tweak them and add bodies or add equipment or technology to shore up that plan."
The Super Bowl 59 matchup between the Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles comes one month after the attack, which killed 14 people and injured dozens more.
"We would be foolish if we didn't use the events of January 1 to inform the plans we can put forward for the Super Bowl," he said.
Joshua Jackson, the special agent in charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives New Orleans field office, told ABC News there will be covert and overt assets protecting those who visit and attend the game in New Orleans.
"We have plenty of resources to respond, with our explosive detection canines, with our bomb techs and our agents to respond to make sure everybody's safe," he said.
Those assets include bomb-sniffing dogs, undercover agents and tactical teams which are comprised of Special Agents from the SWAT team, medics and fire inspectors.
"You're going to see uniform law enforcement, tactically. See helicopters, drones, see additional camera locations. You can see armored vehicles like Bearcats that are placed throughout the city," DeLaune said. "You will see people on rooftops, spotters on rooftops. We're going to bring everything we have to bear to make sure that people can feel comfortable."
He also urged those who see something to say something both at the event and if they are elsewhere.
"We want to make sure that the community is very vigilant -- over report anything that you see that's suspicious, unattended coolers, unattended bags, as people normally see, unintended bags and backpacks, we're used to that, but coolers are used to conceal those explosive devices during the terrorist attack. So over report, give us a call," he said.
Adding to the security presence, President Donald Trump is planning to attend the Super Bowl, marking the first time a sitting president will appear at the game.
Following the announcement, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem told reporters in New Orleans on Monday that there are no credible threats to the game or its many surrounding events.
"We recognize the importance of making sure that we're doing due diligence and being prepared for events as proactive as possible, and pre-deploying resources and partnerships that will help us make sure that these events come off safely and with a focus on security," Noem said.
