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Bellevue Police Assist Secret Service and OPD with Presidential Visit

When the U.S. President visits Omaha many law enforcement agencies have to work together to ensure his safety and manage traffic flow. "Omaha could not have done it without the help of several agencies," said BPD’s Captain Herb Evers. During President Bush’s recent visit to Omaha on December 5th, Bellevue PD was just one of ten local, state and federal law enforcement agencies to participate, sending 22 officers either as part of the presidential motorcade or to work traffic control.

Planning for such a visit takes many days of preparation with numerous meetings to determine the route and which officer will be placed where. Shutting down roads caused major delays in the metro area and added to that, according to Evers, is that the route cannot be publicized ahead of time. "I wish we could tell people ahead of time, but we can’t, so we have a huge mess of traffic", he said.

In Bellevue, highway 75 northbound into Omaha was one of the roads closed, causing a one-mile backup in the Chandler and Fort Crook roads area.

Photo: Captain Herb Evers briefs his officers in preparation for the President's visit.