It was difficult not to feel safe Monday inside the main exhibition hall at the Greater Richmond Convention Center.
Hundreds of armed police officers — many looking like professional bodybuilders with badges, skin-tight T-shirts, camouflage fatigue pants and combat boots — crowded the aisles of the sprawling hall for the vendor show of the National Tactical Operations Conference.
Tactical robots whirred across the hall's floor, competing for space with the conventioneers — in this case some 1,000 members of Special Weapons and Tactics teams from police agencies across the nation. The officers were drawn to row after row of exhibits of everything from firearms to body armor and the latest in night-vision equipment.
At every booth, the officers were encouraged to check out the wares, as evidenced by the red laser beams from high-tech rifle scopes constantly dancing across the ceiling.
In one corner of the exhibition hall, Janice A. Lindstrom was drawing a crowd. She was fielding questions about Oshkosh Defense's Tactical Protector Vehicle, a tough-looking armored truck that weighs more than 7 tons. It can travel up to 75 mph and carry as many as nine officers up steep outdoor staircases before they bash their way directly into high-risk missions.
If that doesn't sound intimidating, consider the vehicle's promotional slogan: "Get in. Get around. Gain control."
As police officers climbed inside the truck and kicked its tires, Lindstrom said she expected to generate a significant number of sales leads at the convention for the vehicle, which has a base price of about $200,000 but typically costs about $250,000 once outfitted for a particular law-enforcement agency's needs.
"This is really our largest market," she said. "These are the tactical guys."
Across the exhibition hall, Patrick Creed, a regional sales representative for Remington, was showing the latest that the firearms manufacturer has to offer. Remington generates about 10 percent of its annual sales to law-enforcement bodies, orders that can range from 1,200 rifles for a state police agency or five weapons for a small municipal department.
This year, at least, Capt. Robert L. Allen isn't looking for firearms. Instead, the 30-year veteran of the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office in Florida is hunting for the latest in airborne technology — specifically, enhanced vision equipment that can be used from aircraft.
"Anything that can minimize the exposure of our officers to danger," said Allen, who has spent the past 26 years with the Palm Beach SWAT team.
Allen said his department is fortunate to be able to take advantage of federal grants and other funding sources to keep its 50 SWAT officers up to speed with improvements in tactical police work.
"We're always looking to update our technology," he said.
The convention, which began Sunday and runs through Friday, isn't just about crime-fighting equipment.
Seminars offered throughout the week will cover such topics as fitness, hostage rescue, marksmanship, organized crime, litigation, leadership and a session titled "Beyond pipe bombs: Understanding the threat of today's bomb makers."
The Richmond Police Department, a host for this year's convention, will be using several houses throughout the city this week to conduct tactical exercises for the event's attendees.
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