Rep. Swalwell and Boston Police Commissioner praise emergency response training developed by Alameda County Sheriff’s Office

WASHINGTON, DC – Today, U.S. Rep. Eric Swalwell (CA-15) participated in the first House hearing on the Boston bombings, held by the Committee on Homeland Security, to begin answering questions prompted by the attack, evaluate our emergency response efforts and learn how we can better prepare for a similar attack. Witnesses at the hearing were former Senator Joe Lieberman, Boston Police Commissioner Ed Davis, Massachusetts Executive Office of Public Safety and Security Undersecretary Kurt Schwartz and former Department of Homeland Security official Erroll Southers.

"We will continue to learn more about the lead-up to the attacks in Boston, but we can all acknowledge that law enforcement responded heroically and effectively to the event," said Rep. Swalwell, a former prosecutor. "Commissioner Davis agreed that the training Boston first responders received was integral to their success. I am proud that part of their training, called Urban Shield, was developed here in Alameda County under the direction of Sheriff Greg Ahern."

Urban Shield is a full-scale preparedness exercise to assess regional emergency response capabilities developed by the Alameda County Sheriff's Department under Sheriff Greg Ahern and funded by the Department of Homeland Security. The Boston Police Department participated in four Urban Shield exercises, two in Alameda County and two in Boston, to prepare their teams to respond swiftly and effectively in case of a mass casualty event. Commissioner Davis commended the program and said that the exercises enabled the Department to identify and correct potential issues that could impede their response efforts before it was too late, but added that funding cuts threaten their continuation.

"As Commissioner Davis said during the hearing, federal funding is critical to ensuring a coordinated response to any disaster. Like the Commissioner, I am concerned that across-the-board budget cuts to these training programs impair the ability of law enforcement teams to respond as effectively if another mass casualty event was to occur. This risk is not worth it. "

Click here for video from the hearing

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