Did you see a lot of cop cars and flashing lights in Blackfoot last night? Here’s why.
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BLACKFOOT — You may have seen flashing lights and police cars and heard loud booms in the Blackfoot area Wednesday night. But it’s nothing to be worried about.
It was part of SWAT training with the Southeastern Idaho Special Tactics and Response (STAR) Team. The training began around 7 and lasted about two and a half hours.
A notice was put on Facebook on Wednesday night by the Bingham County Sheriff’s Office, that read, “Don’t be alarmed! If you see the Southeastern Idaho Special Tactics and Response Team’s armored vehicle and a couple of police vehicles from out of the area — in the Snake River and Blackfoot Area — they are simply doing their bi-monthly training and we are hosting.”
Various scenarios were run from start to finish.
“It was a simulated barricaded suspect scenario and a simulated hostage rescue scenario and then a couple of mini scenarios for K9 deployment,” said Jordyn Nebeker, chief deputy with Bingham County Sheriff’s Office.
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Several emails were sent to EastIdahoNews.com asking what was happening and some said they heard gunshot sounds.
“The gunshot sound was simulated gas, like gas canisters being deployed. It was actually just smoke,” said Nebeker.
Powell’s Body Shop off State Highway 39 was used as a training venue.
Nebeker added it’s important for the team to train to have experience dealing with different scenarios and learning how to make decisions under stress.
“Not very often are they able to have realistic scenarios in the urban setting,” Nebeker said.
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