LOS ANGELES, Calif. – On July 28, 2015, at 3:44 PM, a female suspect made a terrorist threat via telephone to the Los Angeles Regional Transportation Management Center (LARTMC) located in Eagle Rock CA. LARTMC is home to the California Highway Patrol (CHP) L.A. Communications Center (LACC), where the call was received. The caller threatened to injure employees and destroy the facility with a bomb and used profanity before promptly disconnecting from the call.
LACC personnel immediately notified CHP Investigators and requested assistance from Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD), and Los Angeles Fire Department (LAFD). Communications staff activated systems to re-route all cellular calls from L.A. County to our sister facilities in Ventura, Orange County and San Bernardino. Individual CHP stations had to go into self-dispatch mode in order to maintain control of calls for service. CHP and Department of Transportation (DOT) personnel then evacuated the facility to pre-designated locations.
Specially trained explosive detection canines from CHP and LAPD were utilized to search the perimeter and every single floor of the building. A thorough search of the facility revealed no explosive device or any traces of explosives to be present.
Just before 6 p.m., the “all clear” was given and employees and dispatch operations fully resumed. Although there are protocols in place to safeguard public safety when threats such as this are received, this event was a reckless misuse of the 9-1-1 system and protocols intended for use during legitimate emergencies. CHP and DOT employees also had to endure the elements and kept from their duties without good cause. Lastly, numerous hours of CHP, LAPD and LAFD resources were wasted by having to concentrate their efforts toward a non-existent emergency.
CHP Investigators expedited an investigation utilizing confidential means and at 9:16 p.m., arrested Margaret M. Gallagher at a residence in Ventura County for making Criminal Threats. Mrs. Gallagher admitted to placing the call and threat, she was subsequently booked at the Ventura County Government Center for violating section 422 of the Penal Code – Criminal Threats.
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