The security perimeter in Minneapolis, extending some 9 km during the first few days in the aftermath of the tragedy, was patrolled by 100 police officers.
(Photo: Martin Alarie)
Photo: Minn 2
Three days in Minnneapolis
Two Laval police officers learn a few lessons from bridge collapse in Minnesota
“Two sites, a common incident, two fallen bridges, but that’s where the similarity ends,” summed up Laval Police inspector André Pyton, upon his return from a three-day visit to Minnesota where he and colleague Roger Janelle spent 36 hours at the site of the bridge collapse at Interstate 35 W, spanning the Mississippi River.
Although the Minnesota tragedy differs from the one that shocked Laval 10 months ago, there are valuable lessons to be learned, say the two Laval cops who drew their own conclusions from their visit to the site of the collapse, struck by the extent of the tragedy and the vast mobilization of human resources in the aftermath of the disaster. About 100 police officers were immediately deployed, as part of the first responders initiative, to patrol the security perimeter that extended some 9 km the first few days following the tragedy. About a dozen civil, government, military and police agencies became involved in the investigation.
At the height of police intervention following the collapse of the Concorde overpass, about thirty officers were deployed to secure the area neighbouring the fallen bridge. The responders at the site were limited in large part to Sûreté du Québec (SQ) personnel, the Quebec Transport Department, firefighters and local police.
Although on a different scale, the two tragedies share a number of similarities, say the two officers who flew to the American city on Friday, August 3. Back home this past Monday, the two colleagues who had originally intended to offer their expertise to American responders, returned instead with more insights to add to their growing knowledge of bridge collapses, having now experienced ‘hands-on’ presence in two such incidents.
Laval is an island
“It has to be kept in mind that Laval is an island surrounded by bridges,” notes Mr. Pyton, a criminal investigator for Laval Police. The visit to the Minnesota site gave André Pyton and Roger Janelle the opportunity to assist with crisis management in a bridge that collapsed over water.
“Here, the collapse of the bridge onto the autoroute made both the rescue effort and the investigation easier,” says Mr. Pyton. The access to the site (the source of the collapse) and the securing of it for analysis purposes, for example, was made easier. “Down there, part of the structure (to analyze) fell into the Mississippi River,” the police investigator explains.
In full control
When the two Laval officers arrived in Minneapolis, 48 hours after the collapse, the command centre was in place, just a short walk from the site. The city had already mobilized its full force of 850 police officers, on and off-duty. The Coast Guard, the Sheriff’s Department, and the U.S. Navy took control of the rescue efforts for victims trapped in the water.
“At first, they were curious about the presence of two police officers from Quebec,” recounts Mr. Pyton. But when they were told that we had gone through a similar experience ... well (the attitude changed).”
Despite the somewhat chaotic situation, the two Laval agents were given a guided tour of the command posts and were invited to participate in two meetings regrouping about 50 deciders.
“We saw that similar investigative techniques were employed,” relates Roger Janelle, Detective-Lieutenant in the Criminal Investigative Division of the Laval Police Department. Mr. Janelle was part of the team attached to the investigation of the causes of the Souvenir overpass that collapsed in 2000. The investigation of the Concorde bridge collapse was put into the hands of the SQ.
In general, although the situation in Minnesota appeared “very much under control,” according to the two Laval Police officers, they were nonetheless told that for the first six hours there was 'organized chaos'. “When the Concorde overpass collapsed, near where I live,” recalls André Pyton, we (also) were disorganized for the first three hours, but it’s normal. These are exceptional situations.”
Photo: Minn
(Photo: Martin Alarie)
Photo: Minn 2
(Photo: Martin Alarie)
Météo: Laval, 24 juillet 2008 / 20°C
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/ Vents: 17 Km/h / Humidité relative: 88 % 
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