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Hundreds of area law enforcement agency officials participated in a series of intense training exercises over the weekend, including two held in Pleasanton.

It's called Urban Shield, hosted by the Alameda County Sheriff's Office and the San Mateo County Sheriff's Office. Competing teams from various agencies were challenged by testing tactical skills in a series of real-life scenarios.

Specific locations across the Bay Area were chosen to replicate identified problem areas. In Pleasanton, training exercises were held at the Livermore-Pleasanton Fire Department Training Tower and at Oldcastle Precast, located on Valley Avenue and Busch Road. Members of the Boston Police Department and the French National Raid Team were at the Pleasanton exercises.

The Pleasanton Police Department was a supporting agency, but did not participate this year. The event is funded by Homeland Security Grant funds.

For more information about Urban Shield, visit www.urbanshield.org

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