ARIZONA NEWS

After Texas shooting, Arizona officers’ leader wants anti-terrorist training courses

May 5, 2015, 8:30 AM | Updated: 4:47 pm

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LISTEN: Are Valley officers trained to handle terrorism? - Levi Bolton - Arizona Police Association Executive Director

PHOENIX — There is a renewed call for Arizona law enforcement agencies to implement terrorism training courses for officers in light of Sunday’s shooting in Garland, Texas.

Arizona Police Association Executive Director Levi Bolton said violent extremists can be found anywhere, and that local law enforcement cannot ignore the problem.

“We can bury our heads in the sand and pretend that it’s not here so that we don’t have to confront it, but it doesn’t make it any less so,” Bolton said.

According to Bolton, the public should not be surprised to learn the two suspects in the Texas shooting were from Phoenix and at least one of them was under FBI scrutiny.

“They look like anybody else and its very, very difficult for law enforcement, so there is no real caricature of folks that would want to do conduct as horrific as some of the things that these folks are planning,” he said.

Bolton said the Texas shooting is a reminder that police and the public need to stay vigilant in order to counter violent extremism.

“It is important for us to stop pretending that it doesn’t exist and most assuredly quit pretending that the threat isn’t already on our doorstep, because it is,” he said.

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After Texas shooting, Arizona officers’ leader wants anti-terrorist training courses