The one described as "the most realistic thing" some officers said they would likely see.
Yep, they went ahead and did it.
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| Police fighting METH dealers, armed with paint guns ... |
From the description, about a lost elderly man ...
About 10:30 a.m.: A search-and-rescue team tracks Budnik's bracelet to a field near a barn off Summit Meadow Lane. They cannot find the man but stumble into an active methamphetamine lab, where five searchers are “shot” and several have caustic drug substances thrown onto them, according to the scenario. One other searcher escapes to call for help.
10:48 a.m.: Law enforcement arrives, and a gunfight ensues -- paintball guns, in this case. For the next 45 minutes, sporadic gun battles break out as the SWAT team encounters the angry meth cooks. Noise-makers and smoke bombs simulate the explosion of the meth lab, and chaos erupts.
Yes, that sounds very realistic in Watauga County (irony).
http://www2.wataugademocrat.com/News/story/Training-exercise-tests-response-id-005963
If this simulation was suppose to be "real" why would a gunfight happen so quickly? I would assume that the policy for policing an active meth lab would be to avoid gunshots. It sounds like they were just having a good time playing paintball.
ReplyDeleteComing from a unit that kicks around the best method of maximizing the effectiveness of situational/tactical training, we have often had similar discussions amongst ourselves. Training in today's economy - especially with the typical daily work load - is increasingly becoming a privilege. Therefore, the rationale is often to expose the officers to the worst-case situation. However, from a policy standpoint, it stands to reason that certain scenarios can be simply too far fetched. Under this argument, the manpower lost during training could have been more efficiently spent getting repetitions on the most likely to be encountered scenario.
ReplyDeleteI tend to find myself leaning toward the latter...but I understand the mentality behind the former. It's a tough decision to make as an administrator/supervisor.