Last month, the Pearl River County Sheriff’s Department Special Response Team attended training regarding tactical response to incidents involving suicide bombing.
Pearl River County Sheriff’s Department Chief Deputy Shane Tucker said Homeland Security paid for the entire trip, including airfare and travel.
The training consisted of classroom lectures and various mock scenarios, Tucker said.
“They taught us how to recognize the precursors to bomb making with high and low explosives, as well as homemade bombs,” Tucker said. “During lectures, we learned about the materials used in bomb making and the ideology and mindset of a suicide bomber. Instructors also pointed to the physiological and psychological signs to look for.”
During scenario training, officers responded to a situation and were provided with basic information, which changed during the course of the scenario.
“These are meant to induce stress and time limits as you go through the tactical exercise to see how you will react,” Tucker said.
Officers were also allowed to learn about explosive breaching, which is a safe and proven method to gain entry into a barricaded or reinforced structure, Tucker said.
“We aren’t certified, this is some preliminary training,” Tucker said. “But it’s something we are interested in doing.”
In the past, Tucker said the use of a battering ram and pry tools have proven to not be as time effective.
The team also learned other tactics for handling a barricaded subject or hostage situation.
Tucker said safety was stressed throughout the entire training.
“In this time we are living in, there is a new increase in lone wolf attacks or other outside threats,” Tucker said. “This is a way for us to be ahead of the game and be proactive. It’s also about protecting our community and being able to identify potential threats. As a team and department we want to learn, develop and hone our skills to keep our county and suspects safe. We don’t want to hurt anyone, just eliminate that threat to hurt themselves or someone else.”