Domestic terrorism: Kansas City's fusion center is cautious about revealing specifics on its role
Kansas City’s fusion center stays cautious about revealing specifics on its role combating terrorism
Tucked away in Suite 2105-B of the Century Towers building in northeast Kansas City is the Kansas City Regional Terrorism Early Warning Interagency Analysis Center. That’s “fusion center” for short. It’s one of 78 fusion centers set up across the U.S. and its territories since 9/11 to detect and prevent terrorist acts, as well as other crimes, by gathering and sharing information.
More from the project:
Twenty years after the Oklahoma City bombing, federal authorities have lost sight of domestic extremists and failed to prevent acts of terrorism. The lack of focus, funding and information-sharing across disparate agencies has led to fatal consequences for unsuspecting victims around the country. Meanwhile, the violence is metastasizing and the threat is growing.
Part 1: Ignoring the terror within
Multiple studies find focus shifting away from domestic terrorism at ‘ineffective’ fusion centers
A number of groups have conducted studies that found shoddy intelligence being prepared at fusion centers, poor communication among intelligence groups and a move away from looking at domestic extremism.
Ex-police chief in Arkansas warns others about sovereign citizens by telling of son’s death
The former police chief of West Memphis, Ark., spends his time telling other law enforcement officers about the day that turned his life upside-down, hoping it will prevent it from ever occurring again.
Las Vegas officials knew of anti-government couple before fatal 2014 shooting spree
A Las Vegas couple who killed two police officers and a good Samaritan last year had been on the radar of a nearby fusion center whose mission was to thwart dangerous extremists. It’s difficult to tell whether the fusion center dropped the ball. But this much is noteworthy: A group of armed members of the “patriot movement” was more concerned about the couple than was the fusion center.
A Flatland video from KCPT:
Video: Domestic terror: extremists, sovereign citizens and law enforcement
This story was originally published April 18, 2015 at 11:55 PM with the headline "Domestic terrorism: Kansas City's fusion center is cautious about revealing specifics on its role."