ST. ALBANS, W.Va. -- Inside a St. Albans haunted house, members of the West Virginia Special Response Team practiced another scary situation last week -- how they can save lives if someone takes a hostage.
"If we have to, then every other measure failed," he said.
The longer police talk to a hostage taker, the more likely he or she will have time to think their actions through and come to their senses. Developing a line of communication with the hostage taker is critical in ensuring the safety of the hostage and the team, he said.
However, once the decision is made to assault, their actions are immediate with little time to deliberate.
They practiced the exercise in various rooms of the school many times before adjourning. Each time, their actions were evaluated to determine if they needed to work on any technique such as approach or the element of surprise.
The team was instructed by four of the members who recently completed an advanced hostage class. They held a two-day training exercise for a total of 16 hours at the school.
The West Virginia Special Response Team formed in 1995 with four branch teams in the northern, eastern, central and southern parts of the state. In all, 28 members make up the state team, including 17 snipers.
Oglesby said it was important for the team to practice in places such as an elementary school because hostage situations can happen in unknown places in which they are not familiar.
"Today we are at an old, abandoned elementary school, which is a perfect venue for us," he said. "We have not been here before. ... That gives us fresh perspective on what we may encounter in the real world."
Reach Travis Crum at travis.c...@wvgazette.com or 304-348-5100.
ST. ALBANS, W.Va. -- Inside a St. Albans haunted house, members of the West Virginia Special Response Team practiced another scary situation last week -- how they can save lives if someone takes a hostage.
The Kanawha Valley SRT, one of the four branches of the state team, practiced storming the former Fairview Elementary School, where fellow officers were inside acting as gunmen who had taken a hostage. The team was led by Sgt. M.L. Oglesby, State Police executive of operations.
After receiving the signal to storm, the team cautiously approached the school's entrance. They made their way down a dark hallway, filled with prop skeletons and coffins from the building's annual decoration as a haunted house on Halloween.
The team stormed through the gym's double doors and opened fire on the two fake gunmen, hitting them with pink, paint-splatter training bullets, called "simunition."
"Did we hit the hostage?" asked one of the officers, immediately after taking off his helmet. They gave a sigh of relief when they didn't see any new pink marks on the officer playing the civilian.
After the simulation, Oglesby said he hopes his team never has to storm a hostage situation in real circumstances, but he wants them to be ready if it arises.
"It's important we train frequently because the techniques we learn are perishable unless we continually reinforce that behavior we will not be sharp," he said.
"We will not be able to complete our task with speed and accuracy. It puts us in danger, it puts the public in danger and ultimately we want the suspects to be safe as well."
During a real hostage situation, police negotiate with the hostage takers for as long as possible, he said. The team uses the storming technique as a last-resort measure.
"If we have to, then every other measure failed," he said.
The longer police talk to a hostage taker, the more likely he or she will have time to think their actions through and come to their senses. Developing a line of communication with the hostage taker is critical in ensuring the safety of the hostage and the team, he said.
However, once the decision is made to assault, their actions are immediate with little time to deliberate.
They practiced the exercise in various rooms of the school many times before adjourning. Each time, their actions were evaluated to determine if they needed to work on any technique such as approach or the element of surprise.
The team was instructed by four of the members who recently completed an advanced hostage class. They held a two-day training exercise for a total of 16 hours at the school.
The West Virginia Special Response Team formed in 1995 with four branch teams in the northern, eastern, central and southern parts of the state. In all, 28 members make up the state team, including 17 snipers.
Oglesby said it was important for the team to practice in places such as an elementary school because hostage situations can happen in unknown places in which they are not familiar.
"Today we are at an old, abandoned elementary school, which is a perfect venue for us," he said. "We have not been here before. ... That gives us fresh perspective on what we may encounter in the real world."
Reach Travis Crum at travis.c...@wvgazette.com or 304-348-5100.
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