MILFORD, Conn. (WTNH) — What happened in Manchester and London has every community across the world thinking about safety. Local law enforcement are no exception. Police took part in a tactical training exercise in Milford on Sunday night, though it had been planned for months and was not in response to the attacks.
The heavy police presence at the Connecticut Post Mall was not an emergency, but officers preparing for a worst case scenario. Special response teams, or SRTs, headed into the mall in protective gear to practice communication. They also focused on clearing rooms; in this case, stores.
The teams did not know the details of the mock active shooter scenario. The idea was for the exercise to be as realistic as possible. Dozens of volunteers played the parts of victims and eyewitnesses.
SRTs from Milford and nearby communities – including New Haven, West Haven and Hamden – participated in the exercise.
“It’s been, I believe, about five years since we’ve done [a training exercise] at this scale,” said Officer Michael Devito of the Milford Police Department. “Our SRT practices biweekly, year round.”
The exercise took place after the mall had closed, so it did not interfere with business.
A briefing was held after the training was over.
