This Thursday, February 26th, the Los Angeles Police Department and our Federation’s Community Security Initiative are sponsoring a Jewish Community Forum that will focus on law enforcement response to active shooter events and other potential threats to Jewish institutions.
Given the increase in anti-Semitism and heightened threat to Jewish communities across the globe, this timely event will give leadership from local Jewish schools, synagogues and other organizations peace of mind as they gain a deeper understanding of how the LAPD acts on security risks and emergencies.
The forum will feature presentations by LAPD’s Deputy Chief Michael Downing and Sergeant Mike Odle. Deputy Chief Downing is the Commanding Officer, Counter-Terrorism & Special Operations Bureau, where he leads five operational divisions that include the Anti-Terrorism Intelligence Section, Criminal Investigative Section, Organized Crime, Surveillance Section, Hazardous Devices Section, LAX Bomb K-9 Section, Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT), Mounted Unit, Dive Teams, and Emergency Preparedness and Response. He is also Chair of the Executive Board of the Los Angeles Joint Regional Intelligence
Center (JRIC) and Vice Chair of the United States DOJ Criminal Intelligence Coordinating Council. Deputy Chief Downing’s work in counter-terrorism has taken him to Israel, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, Germany, Kenya, India and France. He currently serves as a senior fellow at the George Washington University Homeland Security Institute where he co-chairs the Counter-Terrorism and Intelligence Task Force.
Mike Odle is a Sergeant-II for the City of Los Angeles. He is currently assigned to the Use of Force (UOF) Review Division where he is in charge of the newly formed Strategic Analysis Force Education (S.A.F.E.) section. S.A.F.E. provides administrative training to individual officers, supervisors and command personnel on various UOF and tactics related issues. Sergeant Odle has nearly 28 years of SWAT operational experience that includes responding to alleged terrorist activity with both local and international overtones and coordinating tactical operations with negotiation teams to defeat these threats and other overt terrorist activity. He has received over 150 commendations and awards for his service, including LAPD’s Medal for Valor, the Police Medal for bravery for actions under fire, the Police Star for numerous hostage rescue operations and courage under fire, and the Los Angeles Police Commission Medal for several hostage rescue missions.
Our speakers’ expert knowledge and decades of experience will help inform and prepare our Jewish community for any emergency situations that may arise. Please plan to join us!
To RSVP for this event, or for more information about our Federation’s Community Security Initiative, please contact Jason Periard at CSI@JewishLA.org.
