Sheriff prepares for weapons of mass destruction

EDINBURG - About 15 black-clad deputies inched toward the building, guns held at eye level.

Inside, four suspects had 600 pounds of explosives and some nerve gas. Hidalgo County Sheriff's Deputy Fred Perez stood about 20 yards from the building, issuing orders on a radio.

The group went into the building, but about 10 minutes later deputies carried one of their own out on a stretcher. He had been exposed to the nerve gas. Rescue personnel converged on him and rinsed him with chemicals.

Shortly after that, the rest of the deputies exited the building with two suspects in custody. The other two had been shot inside.

Sheriff's deputies enacted this scenario Friday afternoon at the Hidalgo County sheriff's training academy. The suspects and the hazardous chemicals were fake.

This scenario simulated a situation in which law enforcement officers would have to apprehend suspects who threatened them with weapons of mass destruction. It was the culmination of several months of training, supervised by the National Center for Biomedical Research and Training Academy of Counter-Terrorist Education at Louisiana State University.

The 30 members of the sheriff's tactical SWAT team learned how to identify weapons of mass destruction, use equipment to neutralize them and apprehend suspects in the process.

"As improbable as it may seem to be, it is very possible a terrorist group or individual may try to sneak across the (Rio Grande) into the United States with materials to build a dirty bomb and stash them somewhere in Hidalgo County," Sheriff Lupe Treviño said. "If they can sneak thousands of pounds of marijuana across, they can sneak in a suitcase."

To defend against such a threat, the sheriff's office became the second law enforcement agency in the Rio Grande Valley to undergo this training. The McAllen Police Department completed it earlier this year and is also equipped now to handle such a scenario.

Law enforcement officials said the workshops prepare them to deal with problems in a changing international environment.

"Five years ago, the sheriff's office wouldn't be doing something like this," Treviño said. "We're trying to catch up and be prepared."

Treviño said his tactical officers would avail themselves to any area in South Texas where they are needed in the event of an incident involving weapons of mass destruction. One of the lessons learned in the workshop was cooperation.

After the deputy became "contaminated" with the fake nerve agent, members of the Pharr Fire Department attended to him in bulky hazmat suits. They performed an immediate decontamination - exactly what would be needed in such a situation.

The rescue personnel also decontaminated the suspects, and incident commander Perez gave the all clear on the radio.

Disaster avoided.
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Zack Quaintance covers law enforcement and general assignments for The Monitor. You can reach him at (956) 683-4447.