WASHINGTON, June 7 (UPI) -- Hundreds of law enforcement officers will be in downtown Washington this week to provide intense security for the funeral of President Ronald Reagan.
The Department of Homeland Security has declared memorial services for Reagan a national special security event -- a designation it shares with the G-8 summit on Sea Island, Georgia, and the two party conventions this summer.
The designation means the U.S. Secret Service will be the lead agency for security, coordinating the efforts of the city's police department, the Capitol Hill police, and federal agencies including the FBI.
Snipers will be stationed on rooftops, bomb-sniffing dogs will be deployed and officers will line the route of the funeral procession, scheduled for Friday.
The service itself is closed to the public, but the former president's body will lie in state at the Capitol Wednesday evening and Thursday. Thousands of people are expected to pay their respects there, amid some of the tightest security seen in Washington since the State of the Union address in January.
