Bangor police use hotel for emergency drills Building offers unique opportunity

BANGOR – The officers were carrying black assault weapons, wearing bulletproof vests and camouflage, and looking for an armed suspect who had taken a hostage.

One Bangor police officer guarded the door of the old Holiday Inn-Civic Center, while four others backed themselves up against the wall at the bottom of the steps to provide protection, and another guarded the rear of the group.

All had their weapons drawn.

“There is nothing more important than practice,” Lt. Mark Hathaway said Thursday in the parking lot of the former Main Street hotel while 21 officers and six paramedics held emergency training drills behind him.

For the training, the guns were loaded with paint bullets, and the criminals were volunteers.

The Bangor Police Department’s special response team, its bomb squad and the crisis and hostage negotiation team were put through six training scenarios to make them better prepared in case a real emergency occurs.

“There is an education component for each part,” Hathaway said. “We’re trying to include all our elements.”

The training sessions began at 8 a.m. and ran until 6 p.m. They included a bomb explosion, armed standoffs and entering suspect buildings. The participating officers had differing levels of experience, Hathaway said.

“We have some 20-year guys and some three-year guys,” he said. “It’s a combination of officers from all over the department.”

Officers guided a police robot up the old hotel’s stairs, around a corner and down a hallway by using the device’s cameras.

“They’re quite gifted with that robot,” Hathaway said.

Later the robot was used as a communication tool to negotiate with a lawbreaker.

In the parking lot was the department’s mobile command center, one of only four in the state. It provides reliable transportation for emergency teams and is filled with crime-fighting equipment, including an extendable camera that projects an image onto a television screen built into the side of the recreation-style vehicle.

The groups get together to train annually, but this year were given a distinctive opportunity to use the vacant hotel thanks to Penn National, the property owner.

The situation was unique because the hotel is scheduled to be torn down to make way for a new racing casino-hotel complex. Its imminent demolition allowed officers to kick in doors and break windows, making the exercise more realistic.

“We’re all working together so should we ever have to respond to an emergency, we’ll be prepared,” Hathaway said.