International exercise on the U.S./Mexico border

By Bruce Whetten
Douglas Dispatch
Published/Last Modified on Thursday, August 16, 2012 12:09 PM MDT


Law enforcement agencies from both the United States and Mexico took part in a training exercise in Douglas Aug. 10.


(Use arrows above to view more photos)

The exercise, which featured lights and sirens but was done at a slower speed, was made up of several components. It began when two smugglers were spotted north of the Douglas Port of Entry. The U.S. Border Patrol spotted the two vehicles and put that out over the radio. Agents in the area began looking for the suspect vehicles and both vehicles were later spotted. A pursuit ensued and the two vehicles split up, one going south where the occupants would later jump the fence and get into Mexico where Mexican Law Enforcement took over and continued on with that part of the exercise. The other vehicle attempted to get back into Mexico through the Douglas Port of Entry. One of the three suspects in the vehicle that was stopped at the Douglas Port of Entry fled into Mexico while the driver was taken into custody at the border. Another suspect was later discovered injured in the back of the vehicle.

EMS personnel from the Douglas Fire Department responded to the border, treated the injured suspect; preparing him for transport via helicopter to a medical facility. The Border Patrol, Customs and DFD took the injured suspect from the border to the old Kmart parking lot where they met Lifeline for transport.

“Part of this exercise included our Mexican partners on the planning and the implementation of the exercise itself,” said Jeremy Copeland, Public Affairs Officer for the Border Patrol’s Tucson Sector. “The Agua Prieta Police Department was ready to respond when they saw someone running south.”

Copeland said the “take home message” of this drill was the collaboration and cooperation with other law enforcement agencies on both sides of the border.

“This gives everyone involved a chance to practice what they’ve learned … it allows us to practice so if a real incident like this occurred where multiple agencies responded we would be better off and able to react in a better way because of this practice,” Copeland said. “Everything I saw today went really well.”

The entire exercise was over in approximately 45 minutes.

Previous drills like this have been held in Nogales and other parts of southern Arizona.

“They try to mix up where they do them so different agencies and different personnel get to participate,” Copeland said.

The training had been in the planning stages for a while but wasn’t revealed to the field officers until the morning of the drill.

Agencies taking part in the drill included the U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the office of the Air Marine, the Border Patrol, Douglas Police and Fire Departments, the Agua Prieta Police Department and another law enforcement agency from Mexico.

Copyright © 2013 Douglas Dispatch

Comments

    chimichanga wrote on Aug 20, 2012 8:36 PM:

    " In real life situation: number 1. the ones who made it to Mexico if apprehended would have just paid off the Mexican Police and would have been release. Number 2. The Mexican Police would just watched and done absolutely nothing. A good number of Agua Prieta Police officers have been arrested at the port this year for trying to bring in narcotics, they cannot be trusted and should not have been involved in this exercise. 3. it's an exercise so most likely things on our side would have gone totally different. There would have been no advanced warning and officers are not trained for situations like these. I say this because the officers in outbound come from airports and would have no idea what to do in this type of situation. "

    Michael wrote on Aug 18, 2012 4:06 PM:

    " how many participants were in both vehicles, what happened to the ones that jumped the fence. were they caught by Mexican police, or did they elude capture. I see one suspect was injured, and only the diver on one car was caught. Hmmm, not too successful, me thinks. I know this was only a test. "

Write a Comment

Comment posters are responsible for the opinions they express and the accuracy of the information they provide. We urge comment writers to treat this as a public forum where manners matter. We encourage a collegial, non-insulting tone. All readers comments must be approved by our staff before posting to the Web site. They review submitted comments periodically during the day for offensive or off-topic content before posting. Be aware, in accordance with the Communications Decency Act and provisions upheld in judicial appeal, that you are responsible for comments posted on this Web site. The Douglas Dispatch is not liable for messages from third parties.

DO NOT POST:
* Potentially libelous statements or damaging innuendo.
* Obscene, explicit, or racist language.
* Personal attacks, insults or threats.
* The use of another person's real name to disguise your identity.
* Comments unrelated to the story.
* Personal Information (phone numbers, addresses, etc.)

Opinions, advice and all other information expressed in douglasdispatch.com's reader comments represent the individual's own views and not necessarily those of the Douglas Dispatch. The Douglas Dispatch does not endorse and is not responsible for statements, advice or opinions offered by anyone other than authorized Douglas Dispatch spokespersons.

Your thoughtful contribution to the online discussion is appreciated.

(optional)
   









Contact Us

Email the Editor
530 11th Street
Douglas, AZ 85607
tel: 520.364.3424
fax: 520.364.6750
Subscribe Online
Place A Classified