Special police training took place on Thursday morning, that saw police officers of the London Police Services climbing up and down outside a building. At 8 a.m. LPS posted on X about conducting the training for their emergency response unit members. They also mentioned in the report that one of their light armoured vehicles would be on display. This all took place on entrance B of Victoria Hospital.
Source: XFM/Daniel Hernandez
The special training consisted of the officers attached to a safety harness as they slowly go down the outside of a hospital building. Then they must climb back up. Officers were seen waving at the people inside the hospital as they went down. Sargent Paul Devlin from the LPS was available to answer any questions the public had about the training or the light armoured vehicle.
Source: XFM/Daniel Hernandez
“Rappel just like most of our training and tactics, the more you do it the more comfortable and the better you get at it and it’s really important.” Says Devlin. “Especially in operational situations where we have to do this which we do quite frequently. The more time they spend on the rope the more comfortable they get, and it makes it safer for everybody.” Devlin adds.
Source: XFM/Daniel Hernandez
Patients and citizens going in and out of the entrance were able to see the police officers do their training as they waved to the kids inside. The public was also able to take pictures and go inside the light armoured vehicle. An officer would explain how it works and answer any other questions. Kids were seen sitting in the driver’s seat of the vehicle as parents snapped some photos. One of the members of the public was a retired nurse named Denise Wilson. She was waiting for her grandson to finish his appointment.
“Well, I love watching them come down. I always have done I like that on TV. I like it there but, to actually see him do it and see, you know, just how carefully they have to do it. It’s amazing.” Says Wilson. She later adds “It really is, it’s exciting too and it’s when we know it’s a training session. So, it’s a lot easier.”
Source: XFM/Daniel Hernandez
LPS chief Thai Truong was present at the event handing out little beaver plushies to the children in the hospital. He also took some pictures near the light armoured vehicle. Sargent Devlin explains the main goal of doing this training in such a place like the hospital.
“It’s London Police Emergency Response Unit’s weekly rappel training. We do rappel training throughout the year, but we dedicate weeks in the fall specifically to that discipline.” Says Devlin. “Just for today. There was a request made if we could use the hospital for children and we get some training value out of it, but the kids get to smile and see us in a different light other than what’s seen on TV.” Devlin concluded.
It is unsure for long the training took place. LPS just wanted to let people of the public know that there was no threat and that the exercise was simply for training purposes. The aim of their X post was to alert the public not to call 911 if they see police.
