On the morning of Sept. 11, 2001, Joseph Riga was reviewing details of his new post as transit police chief with top officials of the Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority when news bulletins reported the events unfolding at the World Trade Center.
“We turned on the television just in time to watch the second plane crash into the tower,” recalled Lawrence M. Meckler, NFTA executive director. “Joe wasn’t even working for us yet, and we sent him out to the airport.
“From that day on, everything changed, not only for the world, but for the NFTA, too.”
Celebrating its 25th anniversary this month, the NFTA Transit Police Department faces new realities spawned by the terrorist attacks of 2001. From 1984’s initial cadre of 35 officers in brown “rent-a-cop” uniforms, the department now marks another milestone with the recent addition of its 100th officer.
A quarter-century after their first patrol, NFTA officers remain particularly focused on two goals: preventing terrorist activity at both of the authority’s two international airports and serving as a deterrent to crime in the subway or other transportation facilities.
“A lot of it is perception,” said Riga, a former Homicide Bureau commander in the Buffalo Police Department who became the third chief of the transit police and will retire in March. “People feel more secure when they see a police officer.”
Over the years, the force has added a K-9 unit with eight dogs who sniff for bombs and drugs, a Detective Division, community-oriented police initiatives, bike patrols, new duties at the Buffalo and Niagara Falls airports, and the ability to conduct random screenings for explosives at Metro Rail stations.
A new “emergency response team,” also trained in special weapons and tactics, can respond to hostile situations.
