Of course, it was a very warm day in Lakeside as law enforcement members from Missoula, Polson, Lakeside, Kalispell, Whitefish, and Flathead County Sheriff's office practiced a hostage situation. Dressed in camouflage, body armor, and firearms, roughly two dozen officers practiced breaching an abandoned house. Inside the structure, paper bodies were moved for each scenario allowing the officers to think through how they would handle each situation. "Our priority is to always protect hostages/civilians. We refer to it as HIPS -- Hostage, Innocents (civilians in the area), Police, and Suspect, in that order," explained Flathead County Sheriff's Office, Training Sergeant and Team Leader Travis Smith.
The subject house sits vacant on the corner of Highway 93 and Stoner Creek in Lakeside, MT. The new owner of the property will be tearing it down to put in a new business, so nothing of the residence needed to be salvaged. "Having a real building for training is invaluable to us," said Undersheriff Wayne Dubois. "We can draw on boards all we want, but it's different when you're present, geared up and actually walking through a space. "We would love to have more of these...houses, barns, mobile homes...something that is scheduled for demo can be put to good use. It doesn't matter where either. Today, we're in a fairly populated tourist area, but tomorrow, we could find ourselves in a dense rural area. Any structure where someone might hide provides great scenarios for us to practice." Windows were smashed, doors busted down, and even some of the exterior and interior walls were abused.
If you have a structure on your property that you are going to tear down, please let us know. We are always needing a place to practice skills. We may not strip it down to the bones, but it sure won't look the same when the team is done! Please notify the Public Information Officer at 406-758-5501, or email .