OGDEN, Utah, Nov. 3, 2018 (Gephardt Daily) — The Ogden Police Department hosted training by Hill Air Force Base early Saturday morning, sending military helicopters hovering over central Ogden and areas nearby in Weber County.
No advance news releases were issued, so the unexpected and strong military presence — with personnel accompanied by Ogden police — took many residents by surprise when it started just after midnight.
“This is completely unacceptable,” near eastside homeowner Taylor Knuth wrote on Facebook. “As residents of this neighborhood, … (we) along with so many others, work daily to remove negative perceptions in regards to safety and security in East Central Ogden.
“The time this incident occurred, the complete lack of advanced communication, and the blanket silence is deafening.”
Others commenting on Facebook Saturday morning noted that the the training exercise was set in a low-income section of town where the percentage of minority residents is high.
The Ogden Police Department issued a statement later Saturday morning, apologizing for the noise and confusion, and saying that alerting residents would have created a crowd, and “a crowd would have meant more people and less safety for everyone involved.”
The OPD notice included a statement that many readers on Facebook interpreted as insensitive and flip:
“You know you’re from Ogden if you recognize the sounds of freedom!”
Read the full Ogden Police Department statement below:
“If we woke you up last night we sincerely apologize. We were assisting members of our military as they carried out a training exercise.
“Military and law enforcement routinely conduct training like this to increase interoperability and give our soldiers an opportunity to train in the most realistic environments available. All of this training is carefully planned and executed to balance realism and safety for everyone involved — especially for our citizens.
“There is no denying — it was loud and it was late. Some were unsure of what was going on. Some woke up scared and confused. And for that, we apologize. We did not utilize social media because a crowd would have meant more people and less safety for everyone involved.
“But here’s what we did do…
“We sent an emergency notification through a reverse 911 in the affected area. We hope you received it. We know many of you did and we thank you for passing it on.
“Loud, late, scared and confused can also describe a natural disaster, imminent weather dangers or a public safety issue. To help keep you informed, Ogden City utilizes CodeRED, an emergency notification service that allows officials to notify residents and businesses by telephone, cell phone, text message, email and social media regarding time-sensitive general and emergency notifications, but it only works when residents register their cell phone numbers and email addresses to get notifications.
“To sign up for CodeRED, go to: http://public.coderedweb.com/cne/en-US/11B885E194B7 or simply download the CodeRED Mobile Alert app and register through the app to receive the alerts.
“You know you’re from Ogden if you recognize the sounds of freedom! We live with them day in and day out as we support our military at Hill Air Force Base. Last night, Ogden had another opportunity to support our military — up close and personal. Thanks for coming through!”
