ROCHESTER, N.Y. (WROC) — A Rochester police officer has been chosen for the largest Excelsior Challenge to date.

Joining him are 150 other members of law enforcement from across the state, such as bomb technicians, explosive detection canine handlers, and tactical team operators.

All are training by responding to seven real life scenarios at the state preparedness training center. RPD Sergeant Angel Pagan shares how important this opportunity is to him.

“To be able to get with all the other agencies and disciplines across New York State, to work jointly together to, most importantly, have tough and realistic training,” he said. “I mean, you just can’t tell how valuable that actually is when it’s time to perform that function in real life.”

Over the course of this week, these law enforcement professionals will be split into different teams so they can gain experience from other members of different task forces.