TREXPO Attendees to Challenge the LEOPARD

Officers attending the annual TREXPO West trade show and conference in Long Beach, Calif., this month will have an opportunity to compete against their colleagues and against the clock on a specially designed police obstacle course. The program, called the Law Enforcement Officer Performance and Reaction Drill (LEOPARD), is a spirited, head-to-head competition for officers across the nation. The LEOPARD Challenge course requires participants to perform a series of 10 linked tasks common to basic policing--including target shooting with a BeamHit system, rescuing victims, crawling through culverts, handcuffing suspects--while negotiating an obstacle course. Prizes are awarded to the winners. LEOPARD was launched at the 2003 American Society of Law Enforcement Trainers (ASLET) conference in January in Ontario, Calif. Counting TREXPO, there will be 15 LEOPARD Challenge competitions at different locations throughout the country this year. The program culminates in October with a televised national championship. For more information, visit www.theleopard.org. TREXPO West is scheduled for March 11-13 at the Long Beach Convention and Entertainment Center. The trade show exhibits, including the LEOPARD Challenge, are free to sworn personnel. To preregister, visit www.trexpo.com.