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WMD SUMMARY <br />Prepared by Officer Muddle <br />This past year was marked by a lot of change within the Hennepin County <br />Weapons of Mass Destruction Tactical Team. A constant, however, was the <br />commitment of the St. Anthony Police Department to continue out - <br />involvement in this unique service. The high standard and quality of <br />training also remains the same. In 2008 the team was involved in operations <br />of local and national importance. <br />In February of 2008 the team was invited to Duluth to participate in joint <br />training operations with the Minnesota Army National Guard 55`E' Civil <br />Support (WMD) Team, and the North Dakota ANG 814` Civil Support <br />(WMD) Team. Hennepin County WMD has worked closely with these <br />types of units for several years. This training involved the team boarding <br />and searching two large cargo ships for sources of radio -active materials. <br />The only local team involved in that training was our Hennepin County <br />WMD Team. All other agencies were from the federal government, <br />including US Border Patrol, the US Coast Guard, and the FBI. <br />In April, St. Anthony Officer Mike Huddle was appointed as a Tactical <br />Team Leader. In May, Officer Huddle was tasked as a team leader for an <br />element of the team that was activated to <br />stand ready during anticipated "May Day" <br />protests in Minneapolis. This event <br />presented no WMD threat, and the team's <br />services were not pressed into action. From <br />June through August members of the team <br />received extensive training for missions in <br />support of the US Secret Service during the <br />Republican. National Convention (RNC). <br />Team members trained with St. Paul Police <br />officials, FBI and Secret Service, and US Department of Energy officials. <br />During the RNC, Officers were teamed up with National Guard CST . <br />members and Department of Energy scientists and specialists. Operations <br />included the use of top secret equipment to detect and identify specific <br />threats. WMD team members served as the enforcement arm of the DOE to <br />intercept, identify, and investigate sources of potential threat material. . <br />During the RNC, several items were detected and located by DOE officials <br />23 <br />