Three law enforcement officers from the Mountain States Region recently attended two of the Anti-Defamation League’s premiere counter-terrorism trainings.

 

Steve Woodson, Director of the Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigation and Commander Patrick Phelan of the Denver Police Department attended ADL’s Advanced Training School (ATS) from June 1-3, 2014 in Washington, D.C. ATS is a three-day course for law enforcement executives and commanders focusing on domestic and international extremist and terrorist threats. The training provides participants with the latest in expertise, information and resources to help them combat threats.

 

“This is an outstanding course,” Woodson said. “The networking is hard to beat.”

 

Participants heard presentations from ADL experts on:  White Supremacy and Domestic Terrorism, Anti-Government Extremism, Protecting Civil Rights and Civil Liberties in an Age of Terrorism, Leadership in A Time of Terror, and more. More than 900 law enforcement executives and commanders have graduated from this elite program since its inception in 2003, representing 245 different agencies from across the country.

 

In addition to those who participated in the Advanced Training School, the Mountain States Region sent Denver Deputy Chief of Operations David Quinones to its National Counter-Terrorism Seminar (NCTS) in Israel from March 8-16. NCTS provides a week of intensive counter-terrorism training with briefings given by senior commanders in the Israel National Police, experts from Israel’s intelligence and security services, and the Israel Defense Forces.

 

“The most eye-opening experience for me was seeing how similar police work here is to police work in Israel,” Quinones said. “They may operate with some different rules in Israel, but it all comes down to building the right relationships to be effective in our work.”