The men in black were out in force at the Belle-Clair Fairgrounds on Wednesday.Seventy police officers became official members of the newly minted Metro-East Emergency Response Team formed to protect pharmaceutical stockpiles in case of a biological terrorist attack.
Metro-East Emergency Response Team
They held a training session at the fairgrounds to practice tactics to ensure orderly administration of medicine and supplies in the event of a terror attack, said team commander Lt. Dominic Lauko.
“Our baby is finally born,” he said as he watched the officers wearing head-to-toe black protective gear run training exercises.
The team also has a dual purpose, trained to respond to natural disasters, riots and protests in the state and around the country. It could be activated to provide extra security at the 2012 Olympics, if Chicago gets the nod.
“We had a call asking if we could help out during the World Series (last) year,” said team deputy commander George Mokriakow. The team wasn’t yet ready.
MEERT is one of six teams around the state, and each of the 420 members are trained to be interchangeable within the other teams, Mokriakow said.
Lauko and Mokriakow researched and spearheaded efforts to form the team, including gathering more than $400,000 in grants for equipment, training and manpower.
Lauko and Mokriakow completed training in Alabama this summer.
A $107,000 command vehicle is already on order, and team members are current being fitted with their equipment and scheduling their training.
Team members come from the St. Clair and Monroe County sheriff’s departments, Belleville, O’Fallon, Granite City, Fairview Heights, Cahokia, Mascoutah, Waterloo, Smithton, Troy, Swansea, Columbia, Caseyville, Maryville, Edwardsville, Millstadt and Sauget police departments and Southwestern Illinois College.
A simulated biological attack training is scheduled at Southwestern Illinois College for May 30.
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