TRAINING PREPARES POLICE FOR REAL-LIFE RAIDS

Officers Eye War On Drugs During Mock Shootout In Duluth

Armed with Glock pistols, cops swarmed an abandoned downtown building,
looking for the bad guys who may be hiding around any corner.

They entered through the door, yelling "Police department, search warrant."

Seconds later, shots were fired at the police.

The assailant quickly took cover and ran to a back room.

Breaking down into teams of two, the six officers secured one room at a time
while closing in on their prey.

After a few minutes, several of the officers had the shooter cornered.

Clearly outnumbered and outgunned, the criminal rolled over on his stomach
to be handcuffed and taken away.

"They came in with their backs to me," the shooter said moments later. "It
was just too easy. You were sitting ducks."

Fortunately for the police, there weren't any real bullets. No one was hurt.
And there's always a next time to try to apprehend the bad guy without
firing their guns.

The shooter was a police officer helping 16 drug enforcement officers
practice their entry skills in dangerous situations at the old armory
building downtown, which is used by Duluth Police for training exercises.

This time, the shootout wasn't real, but the officers will be better
prepared if they need to execute an arrest when they go home, said Wayne
Hunter, Drug Enforcement Administration task force agent.

The DEA has been training 32 officers from five states -- including
Minnesota and Wisconsin -- during the past two weeks on topics including
drug trafficking trends, legalization issues, undercover operations, gangs,
laws and interrogation skills.

In real life, the police would have withdrawn from the building as soon as
shots were fired and waited for a SWAT team, Hunter said.

"It's not like (the TV show) `COPS,' " said DEA Special Agent George Hood,
who is coordinating the training. "Police do what they have to for a
reason."

In real police work, a raid on a house is much safer and drastic measures
rarely have to be taken, Hunter said.

"The most common situation is that they enter the house with a search
warrant and the occupant of the house complies," Hunter said.

Dangerous situations usually only arise when the occupant of the house is
armed and high on drugs, Hunter said.

The police, most of whom already have 10 years of experience under their
belts, repeated varying scenarios through Wednesday afternoon. One time, the
"bad guy" was hiding in a closet with orders to fire on any police. In
another exercise, police attempted to rescue an officer held hostage.

After each "mission" was completed, the officers reviewed their actions and
Hunter gave constructive criticism.

Participation in this training is highly competitive and it's only offered
several times a year, Hunter said. This is the first time the DEA has
offered its program in Duluth since 1996. Five officers from the Northland
participated, along with police from North Dakota, Illinois and Indiana.

"It's good training.... These guys are able to bring in more experience that
you can't get otherwise," said Deputy Jason Kramber from Wright County, west
of Minneapolis.