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OGDEN -- Inconspicuously nestled in an Ogden industrial park, a high-tech facility can help police train for any kind of nightmare scenario.
The Swanson Tactical Training Center can become the scene of a hostage situation in a bank, a convenience store hold-up, a school shooting, or a person barricaded inside their home.
"If it's law enforcement related, we do it here," said Weber County Sheriff's Lt. Mark Lowther. "It's one of a kind. I think there's only a couple of facilities like it in the United States, so we're very fortunate to have it along the Wasatch Front."
Built as a gift to law enforcement and the military from the Swanson Family Foundation, the 26-acre campus includes shooting ranges, tactical training ranges, a helicopter landing zone and, most impressively, a detailed recreation of a town inside a warehouse. It allows police and the military to conduct trainings at any time, creating any situation. High-tech cameras record it all for training purposes.
"We can turn it into night and day," sad Geoff Perrin, the center's marketing director. "We can make a nighttime scenario at two o'clock in the afternoon."
Police, the military and some civilians train there. They are charged a nominal fee for upkeep and management to "keep the lights on," Perrin said.
"This facility is an international facility," he said, adding that they have had police and military forces come in from the east coast, the United Kingdom, Germany and the Czech Republic.
Lowther said it's the detail in the facility that helps them prepare for anything.
"We do (Crisis Intervention Team) training here, we do search warrant training here," he said. "Obviously, the SWAT team does a lot of training here."
E-mail:bwinslow@ksl.com
