Members of the Scotts Valley Police Department SWAT team practiced last week on the former site of the Slawinski Auction House on Scotts Valley Drive before the facility’s demolition Monday, April 23.
The team trains quarterly, and this past week’s session allowed it to take advantage of a rare opportunity to train at a location that was soon to be demolished, according to the police.
Because of that, realistic training on breaching doors and windows was possible. Also, diversionary devices often called “flash-bang” grenades were used.
The afternoon was spent conducting full-blown scenarios using role players, paint bullets, diversionary devices, the armored SWAT truck and a full array of hostage negotiation team equipment.
The training allowed for the SWAT team to work in conjunction with the HNT, tactical dispatchers and a tactical commander to successfully resolve real-world situations with the highest level of realism that safety would allow.
