Falls Road and Oaklyn Drive were the site on Saturday of something more commonly seen on Pennsylvania Avenue: an official motorcade.
Traffic stopped as dozens of police motorcycles and black sport utility vehicles sped up MacArthur Boulevard, Falls Road and Oaklyn Drive to Avenel Farm Drive in Avenel. The high-profile guest was Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf, who spoke to a gathering of diplomats, World Bank officials, and members of the Pakistani community during a luncheon at the home of a Pakistani doctor on Avenel Farm Drive.
Richard Myers, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, was also in attendance, as were several members of Congress and celebrities like television journalists Ted Koppel and Chris Matthews, according to guests.
Maryland State Police and U.S. Park Police helicopters circled overhead and all non-resident traffic was prevented from entering Avenel Farm drive during the event, which began around 1:30 p.m. The Montgomery County Police assisted members of the U.S. Secret Service in blocking both entrances to the U-shaped road. Washington D.C. metropolitan police and bomb squad officials were also present.
RESIDENTS REPORTED that they were not informed in advance of the event and that they were denied entry to the neighborhood for several hours.
Across the street from the luncheon, members of Winston Churchill High School’s cheerleading squad were preparing for an countywide competition that evening at Montgomery Blair High School in Silver Spring.
The students had to be dropped off and picked up at the end of the street.
The U.S. Park Police Eagle 3 helicopter, which was assisting in the mission, landed safely in Avenel Park on Oaklyn Drive after a mechanical warning light came on. The Secret Service member riding in the helicopter was transferred to the State Police aircraft.
The helicopter remained under guard in the park Monday awaiting the arrival of a part.