(Douglas County, CO) The Douglas County Sheriff’s Office Special Teams, the Douglas County Regional SWAT Team, South Metro Fire Rescue and CommonSpirit Health joined forces for a special training opportunity.
CommonSpirit Health, which is slated to begin construction on a new medical campus at the site, offered the Sheriff’s Office use of the vacant 300,000 square foot building before its demolition, recognizing the value of supporting law enforcement readiness and community safety.
Through this community partnership, the Douglas County Regional SWAT team, Explosive Ordnance Disposal Team, K9 team, Crisis Negotiators, and South Metro Fire Rescue SWAT Medics, conducted exercises that included building clearing, suspect apprehension, explosive ordnance training, and K9 deployment. The primary goal was to improve tactical response, communication and coordination across law enforcement, specialized response teams, and support units.
“Typically, we train in the same area or buildings. So getting a change of scenery, not just for the operators to give them different problems to solve, but also for the dogs. The dogs can benefit from being in a different place to do their jobs as well. This translates into us giving better service and keeping our community safe because of a higher level of training we are able to give to our staff.” -Sheriff Darren Weekly
“Before the building comes down, we want to make the most of the existing space and we are thankful it provides an important opportunity for our partners with the Sheriff’s Office. Both of our organizations are committed to the health and safety of our communities, and we look forward to a strong partnership for years to come.” – Audre Bagnall CommonSpirit Chief Strategy Officer