APD officers heading to D.C. for presidential inauguration
Austin police will be in Washington D.C. for the presidential inauguration. They will join a force of 5,000 officers from all across the country to ensure the ceremony goes smoothly.
Secret Service agents ran through 40 worst-case scenarios at a training facility in Maryland last week in preparation for inauguration day.
"So we try to 'what if' these things constantly. We do table top exercises so everyone is on the same page,” said Secret Service Director Joseph Clancy.
Clancy tells FOX News 99 protest groups have applied for permits.
The chairman of the joint committee on inaugural ceremonies estimates the event could bring out 750,000 demonstrators alone.
Austin police will have a hand in keeping our nation's capital safe.
"We're basically going class-A just a dress uniform, look professional; have a strong presence,” said Commander Michael Eveleth.
Eveleth says 67 members of the department's special response team will join an estimated 5,000 officers from 100 departments across the country to help the D.C. metro police.
APD is assigned to the parade route.
"On the parade route you'll have an officer every couple of feet so there's going to be plenty of presence. So we want to keep the parade route clear and make sure it's safe,” said Eveleth. "The D.C. police will be the agency to handle any protests or anything that gets out of hand. We will call them. We will step back."
Despite the mass amount of protestors set to attend, Eveleth remains calm.
Back in July he helped lead a group of nearly 100 APD officers at the republican national convention. Prior to departure they were so worried about their safety they created hospital protocol should an officer be hurt or killed.
"Once we got to Cleveland it wasn't that way at all. Protests were peaceful. People demonstrated. They expressed their first amendment right and there were no issues,” said Eveleth.
Eveleth ended up on the front page of the Washington Post in a photo to illustrate the unexpected calm.
"We're going into D.C. with the same optimism that it's going to go the same way,” said Eveleth. "It's exciting to be a part of this process. It's something that not many people have the opportunity to do to get a front row seat to an inauguration."
The officers will depart on Wednesday. Training is set for Thursday. The main event starts for the participating officers at 2:30 Friday morning.
The city will be reimbursed for the overtime.