30
1 The Briefing Room | November 2014 The magazine of the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office Aiming for Excellence REAL LIFE crackdown! Law enforcement nationwide get comprehensive training at new facility in Highlands Ranch Deputies to get tough on drunk drivers over holiday WATCH VIDEO OF OUR K-9S HELPING CATCH CRIMINALS. Page 28

Briefing Room, November 2014

Embed Size (px)

DESCRIPTION

• Aiming for Excellence – the DCSO and ACSO team up to provide some of the best law enforcement training in the country • Christmas for Kids – a few bucks can mean big smiles for kids • Video! Watch our K-9 teams practice catching bad guys • Holiday DUI crackdown – Go easy on the eggnog and our deputies will go easy on you.

Citation preview

Page 1: Briefing Room, November 2014

1

The Briefing Room | November 2014

The magazine of the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office

Aiming for Excellence

REAL LIFE

crackdown!

Law enforcement nationwide get comprehensive training at new facility in Highlands Ranch

Deputies to get tough on drunk drivers over holiday

WATCH VIDEO OF OUR K-9S HELPING

CATCH CRIMINALS. Page 28

Page 2: Briefing Room, November 2014

2

The Briefing Room, a magazine of the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office

Inside this issue:

Message from DCSO Sheriff Tony Spurlock 3

Message from Undersheriff Holly Nicholson-Kluth 4

New K-9s coming -- and a female deputy makes history 5

Stopping scams against our veterans 6

Tip-A-Cop raises funds 7

Cops fighting cancer 8

Senior luncheon 10

Social media; the good, bad and ugly 11

Holiday crackdown on drunk drivers 12

Elk gets caught in barbed wire 13

Wildland Fire Mitigation Crew 14

COVER STORY

AIMING FOR EXCELLENCE

16

Video of K-9 Demonstrations 29

Keep your kids safe with a YESS Boot camp! 30

THE BRIEFING ROOM

The magazine of the

Douglas County Sheriff's Office

4000 Justice Way

Castle Rock, CO 80109

COVER STORY Aiming for Excellence

November 2014

COVER: Aiming for Excellence Peace officers get state-of-the-art training at Highlands Ranch Law Enforcement Training Facility

THE BRIEFING ROOM is the magazine of the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office. It’s produced by Community Re-sources, www.DCSheriff.net. EMAIL EDITOR & Public Information Officer Deborah Sherman at [email protected]. CONTENT: Photography, copy, graphic design by Deborah Sherman unless otherwise indicated. SUBMISSIONS: Have a story idea for The Briefing Room? Please send it to [email protected]. CONTACT: The DCSO at 303.660.7500

“You will make decisions, good, bad or

indifferent, all in a split second... So

training and preparation is critical.” – Sheriff Tony Spurlock

The Highlands Ranch Law

Enforcement Training Facility

prepares officers for every

day situations up to major

events.

Page 3: Briefing Room, November 2014

3

MESSAGE FROM SHERIFF TONY SPURLOCK

T his month, I’m particular-

ly thankful for the men

and women who elected me as

their sheriff in Douglas County.

As the 33rd sheriff in the history of

the county, I’ll continue to focus

on issues that matter to us most.

More than just public safety, the

Douglas County Sheriff’s Office

wants to tackle community con-

cerns, such as mental illness. The

number of people going into our

jails today for threatening to hurt

themselves or others has skyrock-

eted almost 300-percent in the last

decade. We’re tackling that issue

by getting people the right help,

when incarceration isn’t the an-

swer. We’re also training our dep-

uties in crisis intervention tech-

niques so that they can recognize

mental illness and intervene early

and proactively.

As your sheriff, I’ll also focus on

protecting seniors, our parents and

grandparents, as they age and

grow vulnerable to criminals who

prey on the elderly.

It’s a good month to honor and be

thankful for our parents, our fami-

lies and neighbors and the men

and women in uniform who pro-

tect us every day. Thanks to them

and to you for making Douglas

County a great place to work and

live. Happy Thanksgiving.

Last month, a black bear broke into a car in Castle

Pines after it smelled food inside. Not only did it

eat the leftovers, it damaged the car to the tune

of $15,000. After dinner, the Dept. of Wildlife

opened the door and the bear ran away.

Bear wrecks car getting a snack

Bear-seat driver

Tony Spurlock was

elected Douglas

County’s 33rd Sheriff

Page 4: Briefing Room, November 2014

4

The DCSO has coordinated the Christmas for Kids program for the past 15 years and provided gifts to over 650 families in need. The sheriff’s office is continuing this tradition in 2014 by providing gift cards to families to help ease the burden of the holiday season and to help ensure all Douglas County families have a joyous holiday season. The Douglas County Sheriff’s Office is asking for your help to make our program a success. Please help. Thank you.

BEHIND THE BADGE

WITH UNDERSHERIFF

HOLLY NICHOLSON-KLUTH

We need monetary donations and gift cards. Please make the gift cards in the amount of $25 or $50 from major department stores like Target, Walmart, Toys-R-Us, etc. We’ll use any financial donations to buy gift cards. Gift cards will be distributed to families to purchase gifts for their holiday. Please deliver all gifts cards and donations to the sheriff’s office no later than December 12

th, 2014 so that we can distribute them to

the families before the holidays.

Checks should be made out to Douglas County Sheriff’s Office with “Christmas for Kids” denoted in the memo line.

You can mail donations to:

Douglas County Sheriff’s Office Christmas for Kids 4000 Justice Way Castle Rock, CO 80109

Or drop it off between 8am - 5pm Monday through Friday:

DCSO substation 9250 Zotos Drive Highlands Ranch, CO 80126 Douglas County Sheriff’s Office 4000 Justice Way Castle Rock, CO 80109

Thanks to all of you who have worked in the past to make Christmas for Kids a success, and we are looking forward to making this year even a better!

Page 5: Briefing Room, November 2014

5

Friends of Douglas County K-9 to Buy New Douglas County Sheriff’s Office K-9s

Through the generosity of the Friends of Douglas County K-9 and their fund-raising efforts, the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office (DCSO) will be able to ex-pand the K-9 unit with two additional K-9s. Friends of Douglas County K-9 will purchase two new dogs and pay for the training of three K-9 handlers to attend the K-9 Academy at the Vohn Liche Kennels located in Indiana, in January 2015. With the addition of the two new K-9s, DCSO will have a total of six K-9 teams; each team consists of one K-9 and one K-9 handler. DCSO is fortunate to have had K-9s since 1989. Douglas County Sheriff Tony Spurlock said: “This is a unique collaboration between Douglas County Sheriff’s Office and Friends of Douglas County K-9. Our combined mission is to sustain a unit of well-trained, well-equipped dogs, to be used to maintain the safety of the community. Together we will have purchased five new dogs, safety equipment, and training classes to teach the handlers how to better instruct their dogs. These classes allow the dogs to become a more finely tuned tool to be used for the protection of our citizens, making Douglas County one of the safest communities in the state of Colorado. Having these dogs on every patrol shift is a major achievement for the safety of our personnel and the citizens we serve. It drastically improves the efficiency and effectiveness of the Patrol Division. The Douglas County Sheriff’s Office is fortunate to have this partnership with the Friends of Douglas County K-9, which allows us to provide continuous K-9 coverage 24 hours a day”. Friends of Douglas County K-9 Chairman, David Swieckowski D.V.M. said: "Our mission is to support the Douglas County Sheriff's Office K9 Unit and this generous funding of more dogs and training is helping us fulfill this mission. If it were not for our donors and our volunteers, we could not have even come close. All of us in Douglas County take immense pride in these dogs and their handlers. We couldn't be more thrilled."

CONGRATULATIONS to our new K-9 unit handlers, including the first female handler since the beginning

of the program in 1989. Deputies Marcella Kelly, Brad Prouix and Michael Morris will begin their training in January with their new canine partners.

De

pu

ty M

icha

el M

oris

De

pu

ty M

arce

lla K

elly

De

pu

ty B

rad

Pro

uix

Page 6: Briefing Room, November 2014

6

T here are many ways in which veterans and those who support them are scammed, and charities that allege to raise money to help veterans are at

the top of the list. Investment scams targeting older vet-erans are also prevalent, as are benefactors who offer reduced fees for services that are otherwise free to vets. Below are some of the more common schemes: Fraudulent Charities: Bogus charities often use names similar to well-known veterans groups or affiliated non-profit organizations in an attempt to deceive the public into believing the charity is real. Regardless of how an aid organization solicits, always verify the legitimacy of that charity before making a contribution.

Two reliable sites include the Better Business Bureau www.bbb.org and Charity Navigator www.charitynavigator.org.

In addition to fabricated veteran charities, some charities mislead potential supporters by alleging assistance to veterans or military families without providing them actual support. Both websites provide pertinent information on charities, the charity’s mission, and the percent of money raised and contributed to the cause the charity supports.

In Colorado, charities that intend on raising $25,000 or more annually must be registered with the Secretary of State’s Licensing Division. Listings of these charities can be found on the Secretary of State’s website at www.sos.state.co.us.

Illegal Investment Schemes: In this dubious scheme, veterans are persuaded by unscrupulous investment ad-visers to transfer their assets into an irrevocable trust in order to financially qualify for VA-related pensions and benefits. Doing so often jeopardizes the veteran’s eligibil-ity for Medicaid should it be needed down the road for long-term care. Meanwhile, the advisor makes a high commission off of investments contained in the trust that are often unsuitable for an older veteran. For credible in-formation on veterans benefits, click on www.nasdva.net Charging for Military Records: Veterans can also be fooled by solicitors who offer a “reduced fee” in order to obtain military records. All military records are available free of charge to all Veterans and are available through the Veterans Administration. DA – 18th Consumer Protection Line: 720-874-8547

A consumer alert by the 18th Judicial District’s Ofice

Page 7: Briefing Room, November 2014

7

Officer, more mustard please? Tip-a-Cop raises thousands for Special Olympics

T his fall, Douglas County

Sheriff’s Office employees

traded in their handcuffs

for aprons at Red Robin Res-

taurants.

The were taking part in the annual

Tip-A-Cop fundraiser to raise money

for Special Olympics Colorado, along

with thousands of other law enforce-

ment across Colorado and the coun-

try.

Deputies hustled back and forth to

get people seated, drinks and food.

In return, they earned tips that

will help special

athletes compete

in competitions

across the nation.

More than 60,000

law enforcement

took part in the

event in August,

raising thousands

of dollars for lo-

cal Special Olym-

pics programs.

T here are many ways in which veterans and those who support them are scammed, and charities that allege to raise money to help veterans are at

the top of the list. Investment scams targeting older vet-erans are also prevalent, as are benefactors who offer reduced fees for services that are otherwise free to vets. Below are some of the more common schemes: Fraudulent Charities: Bogus charities often use names similar to well-known veterans groups or affiliated non-profit organizations in an attempt to deceive the public into believing the charity is real. Regardless of how an aid organization solicits, always verify the legitimacy of that charity before making a contribution.

Two reliable sites include the Better Business Bureau www.bbb.org and Charity Navigator www.charitynavigator.org.

In addition to fabricated veteran charities, some charities mislead potential supporters by alleging assistance to veterans or military families without providing them actual support. Both websites provide pertinent information on charities, the charity’s mission, and the percent of money raised and contributed to the cause the charity supports.

In Colorado, charities that intend on raising $25,000 or more annually must be registered with the Secretary of State’s Licensing Division. Listings of these charities can be found on the Secretary of State’s website at www.sos.state.co.us.

Illegal Investment Schemes: In this dubious scheme, veterans are persuaded by unscrupulous investment ad-visers to transfer their assets into an irrevocable trust in order to financially qualify for VA-related pensions and benefits. Doing so often jeopardizes the veteran’s eligibil-ity for Medicaid should it be needed down the road for long-term care. Meanwhile, the advisor makes a high commission off of investments contained in the trust that are often unsuitable for an older veteran. For credible in-formation on veterans benefits, click on www.nasdva.net Charging for Military Records: Veterans can also be fooled by solicitors who offer a “reduced fee” in order to obtain military records. All military records are available free of charge to all Veterans and are available through the Veterans Administration. DA – 18th Consumer Protection Line: 720-874-8547

Page 8: Briefing Room, November 2014

8

On December 17, cops are going to fight the toughest, most vicious, nefarious criminal they’ve ever faced-- childhood cancer. The monster has struck the innocent at Children’s Hospital. Police are on their way.

Douglas County Sheriff’s deputies, led by Aurora Police and hundreds of other law enforcement, will caravan to the hospital armed with smiles and gifts.

They’ll pass around the presents , share laughter and offer kids hope that they’ll win the battle against the ultimate bad guy.

Page 9: Briefing Room, November 2014

9

Page 10: Briefing Room, November 2014

10

The DCSO serves seniors lunch and helpful information

S eniors got a taste of reality during a luncheon just for them in September in Highlands Ranch. The

Douglas County Sheriff’s Office Deputy Association fed them a great lunch and good information

about life after sixty. Douglas County tops the nation for the biggest population growth of adults 60 and

older. By 2030, it’s estimated one in four residents in the county will be seniors, which is approximately

24% of the county’s population, according to the CO Demography Office.

Page 11: Briefing Room, November 2014

11

By Phyllis Harvey, Youth, Education & Safety in Schools (Y.E.S.S.)

Program Coordinator | Suicide Prevention

T he Douglas County Sheriff’s Office Youth Education and Safety in Schools (YESS)

team was honored to participate in the Douglas County Youth Initiative’s (DCYI) 2014 Youth Congress event – The Good, The Bad and The Ugly of social media.

There were more than 120 high school age stu-dents in attendance. YESS presented one of the keynotes that educated students on focused attention and emotional intelligence to include the 3 E’s – empathy, enlightened, and empow-

ered.

Each of the four team members then also lead a breakout ses-sion with stu-dents. Deputy Jay Martin’s group was on crimes per-taining to so-cial media.

The kids dis-cussed creat-

ing the SMS Social Media Society in each High School. SMS would then be educated about crimes within their schools by an officer and in turn teach the younger generations, middle school and elementary students. Similar to a mentor or big brother/sister program to teach the younger children. Their thought was little kids are more likely to listen to older kids as opposed to adults (teachers/deputies/officers) when it comes to being told NOT to do something.

Deputy Ann Walton’s session was on Text A Tip. Students were educated about how Text A Tip works and the group chose to work on a marketing campaign.

Deputy Dan Palermo’s group’s discussion was specifically on “Cyber harassment/Cyber Bully-ing”. The group was engaging and came up with great ideas to battle this spreading issue across Douglas County.

It was great to see teenagers get together about something they are passionate about and come up with real world solutions for these issues. Cyber bullying is spreading throughout the school district and I believe this event was a great starting to point in the battle against such a devastating issue.

Coordinator Phyllis Harvey’s group learned about youth suicide prevention. Students learned about statistics, warning signs, risk fac-tors and protective factors. The group decided to come up with a website and #DougCoLives to promote suicide prevention in the schools. The web domain DougCoLives was purchased by the DCYI for the group to get started.

Page 12: Briefing Room, November 2014

12

The Douglas County Sheriff’s Office Steps Up DUI Enforcement for the Holidays

T he Douglas County Sheriff’s Office will be out in force in an effort to reduce the number of DUI related car crashes. The crackdown, which will include

high-visibility enforcement throughout Douglas County, will start November 26th and will run until the end of the year. Douglas County Sheriff’s Deputies will be aggressively looking for drunk drivers during the crackdown and will arrest anyone caught driving drunk.

Although it is illegal in all 50 States, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico to drive drunk (having a blood alcohol concentration of .08 or higher), far too many people across the nation get behind the wheel after consuming too much alcohol. The latest statistics from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration underscore the serious nature of the nation’s continuing drunk driving epidemic. “Every year, we see far too many fatalities as a result of driving drunk” said Sheriff Tony Spurlock. “Research has shown that high-visibility enforcement reduces drunken driving fatalities by as much as 20 percent. By stepping up our DUI enforcement this holiday season, we will make Douglas County roadways safer for eve-ryone,” said Sheriff Spurlock. “We want to remind everyone that getting behind the wheel drunk is a terrible idea. Unfortunately, not only does drinking impair your ability to operate a vehicle safely, it also impairs your judgment and good sense about whether you can, or should drive.

Page 13: Briefing Room, November 2014

13

Elk gets twisted up by barbed wire fence

In October, a wandering elk got tripped up by barbed wire in Elk Ridge Park off of Lagea Road.

DCSO deputies and CO Wildlife Officials used tranquilizers and bolt cutters to free the animal.

Page 14: Briefing Room, November 2014

14

The Wildland Fire Mitigation Crew trains for 10 hours a day, twice a month doing projects that provide a tangible benefit, while allowing team members to practice essential skills.

Pictures at the Highlands Ranch Law Enforcement Training Facility, October 1, 2014

Photography by: Michael Alexander, DCSO Emergency Management

Page 15: Briefing Room, November 2014

15

The Wildland Fire Mitigation Crew trains for 10 hours a day, twice a month doing projects that provide a tangible benefit, while allowing team members to practice essential skills.

Pictures at the Highlands Ranch Law Enforcement Training Facility, October 1, 2014

Photography by: Michael Alexander, DCSO Emergency Management

Page 16: Briefing Room, November 2014

16

Page 17: Briefing Room, November 2014

17

Page 18: Briefing Room, November 2014

18

The Highlands Ranch Law Enforcement Training Facility (HRLETF) pre-pares officers’ minds and bodies to respond to every day calls that could quickly change from mundane to menacing. From classrooms to live-fire shooting, the HRLETF puts law enforcement to the test, in order to handle every day calls from traffic stops to drug raids to terrorism.

I n a split second, there’s no time to think. Police officers must move instinctively and fall back or take

aim. It’s do or die. Protect the victim, stop the threat. That kind of mind and body training is happening at a new state-of-the-art facili-ty in Highlands Ranch for local, state and federal law enforcement across the coun-try. “It isn’t just a shooting facility, it’s a train-ing facility. It’s a classroom, it’s a mindset, it’s a philosophy,” says Don Christensen, who helped found and develop it. “The whole being of the officer has to be tuned. Their skills have to be instinctive. Without it, you get slow reactions. And hesitation often kills cops.”

The Highlands Ranch Law Enforcement Training Facility (HRLETF) is considered by many users as one of the best in the na-tion because of its realistic, all-encompassing methods of training.

DCSO Sheriff Tony Spurlock says the prem-ier facility prepares officers for live fire situ-ations, such as school shootings, to hostage negotiations to everyday traffic stops and domestic violence. “One thing we’ve learned is that you will fight and act the way you are trained,” Sheriff Spurlock says. “The situations we practice at the HRLETF happen regularly every day. You will make decisions, good, bad or indifferent, all in a split second. What you see is not always the scenario it seems. So, this training and preparation is critical.” Without the facility, HRLETF board member Bob Armstrong says the cop loses, because he’s not trained in a shoot, don’t-shoot sit-uation.

“We’re using practical applications of what happens on the street. That’s the kind of training you have to do with these young officers; to be ready for any situation.” AIMING FOR EXCELLENCE CONTINUED NEXT PAGE

“The whole being of the officer has to be tuned. Their skills have to be instinctive. Without it, you get slow reactions. And hesitation often kills cops.” -Don Christensen, DCSO undersheriff in 1983

Page 19: Briefing Room, November 2014

19

Page 20: Briefing Room, November 2014

20

There’s no question about the need for such a facili-ty. Since the deadly school shooting at Columbine High School in Littleton 15 years ago, there have been 20 other deadly attacks at schools. Add in shootings like the one in an Aurora movie theater and it’s a no brainer. Law enforcement need to be ready for any-thing, anywhere, any time. “The bottom line is so much of society’s ills are pushed onto police officers to resolve,” Steve Zotos, former DCSO Sheriff and current HRLETF board mem-ber says. “We need a place to train and be prepared for those types of things. It’s even more pronounced in to-day’s world because we have terrorism and threats from the inside and abroad that officers have to re-spond to.” Getting the edge Law enforcement is trying to get an edge with the HRLETF. Sixty-four agencies or 2,800 officers use the facilities full-time, including the U.S. Secret Service,

FBI, Denver SWAT, Federal Bureau of Prisons, Internal Revenue Service, State Parks, Colorado Bureau of In-vestigations. They train side-by-side with deputies from Douglas and Arapahoe counties, local police departments and Douglas County Search and Rescue. It’s where depu-ties stay proficient and qualify to carry weapons. The US Army, Navy and Air Force have also conducted military exercises there.

Page 21: Briefing Room, November 2014

21

Wide open spaces The facilities are spread out over 165 acres of scrub oak, rolling hills and valleys. The proper-ty’s occupied seven days a week, every hour of the day by peace officers or herds of elk that wander around control towers, shelters and steel targets in the moonlight. The compound has a rapelling tower for snip-ers and eight firearms ranges that support ri-fle, handgun and shotgun training. Live-Fire Shoot House There’s a live-fire shooting house, the only of its kind in the state, where real bullets are fired at targets, while instructors on a catwalk above grade the performance of trainees.

Arrest and control There’s a 20,000 square foot tactical training building with an Arrest and Control Tactics room with rubber-ized floors and padded walls for hand-to-hand defen-sive combat tactics practice. It also has a large bay where agencies can drive their tactical vehicles to practice high-risk stops. Virtual Criminals

The facility also has two high-tech Use of Force simu-lators for decisional shooting. The digital firearms sys-tems pop up bad guys on video screens and respond-ing deputies with real guns altered to fire lasers have about one second to respond to the threat. The system’s operated by DCSO Deputy and instruc-tor Jack Newton .

Page 22: Briefing Room, November 2014

22

“You have to know the statutes, how to apply the law, how to physically do it and then apply it all on one instant,” Newton says. The County Sheriffs of Colorado (the state sheriffs’ association) is based at the facility, along with Ne-croSearch International. That organization buries pig carcasses over six acres because they deteriorate like human bodies. Forensic investigators study the de-composition process and use what they learn to help find clandestine graves across the country. High-tech learning The icing on the cake may be a newly developed classroom, created in a college auditorium style for police and public safety academies. It’s wired for lap-tops, wireless and sound. There are also smaller, no-tech classrooms for basic lectures.

“It’s absolutely mag-nificent,” says Don Christensen, former undersheriff in 1983 for then-sheriff Ste-phen Zotos. “It’s the finest training

facility between Chicago and the Pacific coast. There isn’t one that matches it.” It sure beats training in a land dump. In 1983, depu-ties in one county took practice shots at trash. Police in two other agencies used small, indoor facilities that stifled gunmen with fumes and noise. Douglas County deputies were shooting in the fairgrounds in downtown Castle Rock, with old berms to stop the bullets. Everyone was doing their own thing. When Zotos became sheriff, he said told his undersheriff, “We can’t do this any longer.”

The hunt The Douglas County Sheriff’s Office, led by then Un-dersheriff Don Christensen, searched for a new place to train. By 1985, they’d convinced their county com-missioners they needed a facility. The top contender was the old Arapahoe County dump at Broadway and County Line. But Mission Vie-jo that developed Highlands Ranch, had a better idea. The home developer offered the sheriff a 99-year-lease for $1 on 116 acres at the southern-most part of their boundary. “It was perfect,” Christensen says. The area was too big for Douglas County alone. So, Zotos teamed up with the Arapahoe County sheriff to create a multi-regional facility. At the time, the Arapahoe Hunt club hunted on the property. They’d trap coyotes, release them and chase them down with sharp nosed dogs and horses. A few kennels, stables and caretaker houses stood on the property. Mission Viejo wanted the sheriffs to have it instead, to keep their communities safe. “That’s one of the great stories we’re able to tell in and outside of Highlands Ranch,” Tim Rob-erts says, Vice President of Op-erations for Shea Homes that ac-quired Mission Viejo in 1997.

NecroSearch Intl.

Page 23: Briefing Room, November 2014

23

Page 24: Briefing Room, November 2014

24

Page 25: Briefing Room, November 2014

25

“We are actively involved in law enforcement training in Douglas County and we have a strong relationship with the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office. We have some of the best law enforcement protection in the entire state because of that,” Roberts said. Working on the railroad In 1987, the sheriffs took over an old caboose that had been used as a clubhouse, turned it into a class-room and were in business.

In 1993, the organization created a nonprofit 501c(3) foundation to run the facility. Shea Homes donated the land outright in 2003. The board includes Shea Homes and is chaired by the sheriffs of Arapahoe and Douglas counties. “We have a good relationship with Shea Homes be-cause it’s a private/public partnership which is very rare,” Zotos says. “We couldn’t have done this without them. Our com-mitment to Shea Home and Mission Viejo is that we will keep this a first-class facility, be good neighbors and that we will be stewards of the wildlife and the ecology out here. We both have a vested interest in making sure the property is maintained.”

Members of the foundation believe the facility serves both the needs of deputies to train and nearby com-munities to be protected.

“The operations of the Douglas County law enforce-ment entity is and has been stellar. I think it’s a trib-ute to the quality of leadership of current and past leadership, from the top down,” former president of Mission Viejo, James Toepfer, said. Room to grow There’s more to come. The foundation plans to ex-pand the sniper range from 300 to 600 yards and hold more police academies. They share a dream to one day build dormitories for overnight stays. Board members are aiming for excellence, to keep peace officers and people safe.

INSIDE THE HRLETF

● Eight ranges

● Rappelling tower/

● Long gun-sniper range

● Agility obstacle course, Law Fit

● Live-shoot house

● Two use of force simulators

● High-tech classroom and meeting rooms

● Arrest and control tactics room

● Tactical training bay

● Baffles to stop stray bullets

Federal agencies including the FBI, ATF, DEA

State agencies including CBI, State Patrol, CO

Parks, Department of Corrections

Local agencies including DCSO, ACSO, Denver

Swat, Castle Rock, Parker and Lone Tree PDs.

Agencies at HRLETF

64 agencies, 2,800 officers train here

Page 26: Briefing Room, November 2014

26

The Briefing Room, a magazine of theDouglas County Sheriff’s Office

Page 27: Briefing Room, November 2014

27

The Briefing Room, a magazine of the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office

DCSO SWAT training at HRLETF

Fall, 2014

Page 28: Briefing Room, November 2014

28

W hile civilians are not allowed to train at the Highlands Ranch Law Enforcement Training Facility, the

compound routinely offers tours to the public, Youth Academies, Citizen Academies and the media.

Tourists are allowed to experience some of the training hands-on. They’re also front row specta-

tors as our K-9 handlers demonstrate how their well-trained canines help catch criminals.

Public tours at the HRLETF

Page 29: Briefing Room, November 2014

29

W hile civilians are not allowed to train at the Highlands Ranch Law Enforcement Training Facility, the

compound routinely offers tours to the public, Youth Academies, Citizen Academies and the media.

Tourists are allowed to experience some of the training hands-on. They’re also front row specta-

tors as our K-9 handlers demonstrate how their well-trained canines help catch criminals.

Public tours at the HRLETF

WATCH THE K-9 DEMONSTRATION AS DEPUTY

JOHN GLASSBURNER WORKS WITH HIS CANINE

K-9 demonstration 1

K-9 demonstration 2

Page 30: Briefing Room, November 2014

30