SAN ANTONIO – With all eyes on the deadly serial bombings investigation in Austin, the Bexar County sheriff plans to use an after-action report to help prepare for similar situations in Bexar County.
"We study these situations wherever they may happen in the country. This one happened 60 miles away. The next one, if it ever comes, could happen 800 miles away. We're still going to be watching it,” Bexar County Sheriff Javier Salazar said.
The Bexar County Sheriff’s Office and the San Antonio Police Department both sent help up I-35 to help authorities in Austin.
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"I got several deputies that are cross-designated as FBI agents. They are assigned as task force officers in various task forces within the FBI. Several of those deputies were deployed as FBI agents to respond to that situation," Salazar said.
The task force deputies will bring back a wealth of information.
"We're anxiously awaiting that after-action report. Every agency at the end of one of these does an after-action report — what was done right, what was done wrong, what did we learn from and what can we do better next time,” Salazar said. “Once the report is out, we'll be bringing back some of those lessons learned with us and we’ll be able to train.”
You can view a timeline of events here.
The sheriff said the keyword in all this is “perspective.”
"In the grand scheme of things, I think the Postal Service handles somewhere ... upwards of 170 billion pieces of mail a year, and I think over the years, there's really only been 20 to 25 actual instances of mail bombs," Salazar said.
Salazar said being proactive won't always stop an attack, but his deputies will be ready and he knows they're not alone.
"Agencies absolutely have to be willing and ready to work together. I'm thankful that in our county, there’s not a single police chief that I can't call on," Salazar said.