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Area cops headed to Olympics
By Jenn Farrell
JenniferFarrell@coloradoan.com
    As the world's eyes focus on Salt Lake City this month, three Larimer County residents will be on hand to help with the $300 million security plan for the Olympics.
    More than 60 agencies are involved in the security plans.
    Included among those is the Colorado State University Police Department, which will send two officers.
    Colorado State University Police Cpl. Dave Hurley, who will be helping out with some of the security in Salt Lake City sometime during the Olympics, said he'll find out what his assignment is once he arrives at the site.
    About 18 months ago, CSU Police Cpl. Dave Hurley saw that law enforcement volunteers were wanted for the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympic Games. Hurley applied and passed an initial screening process. After that, his credentials were checked and he was in.
    "It supports both what I currently am assigned to - the special events unit - and I have been involved in events as an officer since I started in 1985 in my college days," Hurley said. "It's an opportunity to meet folks on an international level who do the same thing."
    Hurley said he hopes to catch some events while he's in Salt Lake City, but doesn't know if he'll get the chance.
    "It's going to be challenging. The shifts are going to be long and I keep telling myself that I volunteers, but it's the Olympics. You can't ask for much more than that," Hurley said.
    That's exactally what prompted Jason Meisner to volunteer to join the Olympics security plan.
    "It's one of those once-in-a-lifetime opportunities," he said.
    And the duty is something of a family affair for Meisner. His dad, Daryl Meisner, the police chief in Rifle, will be going to Salt Lake City with his son.
    Doug Kelly, a criminalist for the Larimer County Sheriff's Office, will be trading in his role in the department's crime lab for a part in the crew stationed incase an emergency response is needed.
    Kelly, who is a member of the federal Disaster Mortuary Operational Response Team received a call a few months ago asking if he wanted to be part of the team that was being assembled for the Olympics.
    While other law enforcement officers might be stationed at or around events, though, Kelly expects to be some distance from the athletics. That's probably to keep disaster responders from being in a location that they otherwise might be responding to.
    "We're on standby incase of a chemical, biological or other attack," Kelly said.
    Kelly is using vacation time for this trip because this is not an official deployment for the federal team. If he had been deployed in an actual emergency, he would not have been required to use his time off.
    "It's the Olympics," Kelly said. "It's an excellent opportunity, first of all, to be there in the advent that something happens.. Secondly, I have no doubt that there will be ongoing training."
    Although Kelly is heading out to respond to an emergency, he doesn't necessarily think his skills will be needed.
    "My gut feeling is that it is probably going to be one of the safest places on the face of the earth," he said. "It's a big event and they want to make sure there's good security and I think there will be, which I think decreases the opportunity that anybody is going to do something there."
    No one from Fort Collins Police Services will be going to Salt Lake City for the Games.

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