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PHOTO BY BRETT CAMPBELL / Brookhaven Police Department on-site training.

PHOTO BY BRETT CAMPBELL / Brookhaven Police Department on-site training.

PHOTO BY BRETT CAMPBELL / Brookhaven Police Department on-site training.

PHOTO BY BRETT CAMPBELL / Brookhaven Police Department on-site training.

PHOTO BY BRETT CAMPBELL / Brookhaven Police Department on-site training.

Police cars and trucks, SWAT Humvee and an armored vehicle known as an MRAP rolled up just after 10 a.m. Thursday morning at an abandoned house at the corner of Robertson Street and Rogers Circle in Brookhaven.

The Brookhaven Police Department and its Special Response Team were conducting a training exercise. A Brookhaven Fire Department truck and firefighter crew stood at the ready to extinguish any fire that might be caused by a flash-bang grenade used in entry of the structure.

Residents of the neighborhood were made aware of the training several days ahead of time through BPD announcements, and several people gathered in their yards to observe the exercise.

The SRT team approached the structure in formation, clearing the opened garage area before tossing the flash-bang through the previously-damaged front door. The MRAP drove into the yard and used a front-attached battering ram to push a hole through a wall of the house.

At that point, a “runner” — a police officer wearing a white tee shirt and a bullet-proof vest ran from the rear of the house into the front yard, where officers called out, “We have a runner!” Officers “arrested” this suspect and once the scene was cleared, firefighters went in to the house to make sure it was safe.

At least three officers took video and photos of the training, which will be reviewed and used for additional training.

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