L.A. County law enforcement and safety officials took part in a
multi-agency disaster drill Friday at UCLA’s Jackie Robinson
Stadium that simulated a terrorist attack on public transit buses
comparable to attacks that have frequented parts of the Middle
East.
The drill began at 9 a.m. Friday morning and involved the
participation of more than 10 local, state and federal agencies and
dozens of students from UCLA’s theater department that acted
as victims during the drill on the baseball field near campus.
Other locations included Metropolitan Transit Authority bus
yards in Sun Valley and Chatsworth.
Termed “Operation: Angel Overload” and funded by a
Department of Homeland Security grant, the drill aimed to measure
the capabilities of law and safety officials in the event of
targeted explosions throughout the city’s bus system.
The drill ““ the first of its kind in the city of Los
Angeles involving explosives on buses ““ measured how well
victims would be treated as well as the efficacy of the
communication between all the agencies. Other agencies involved
included university police, the LAPD, the fire department, the
California Highway Patrol and the FBI.
At approximately 9:20 a.m., a series of plastic bombs were
considered to have exploded on three MTA buses on the parking lot
of the Jackie Robinson field.
Victims, played by first-year theater students, were hysterical
as they noted the injury incurred by their loved ones and expressed
frustration through screams and tears that victims could not be
treated faster.
Lieutenant John Hanson of the Sheriff’s Department said
though there were “a couple of snafus as far as
coordination,” overall, the drill progressed smoothly and
mirrored a real-life situation.
With the screams of victims, the gashes on their bodies
(produced by make-up artists before the drill), props that depicted
body parts swimming in pools of blood, and the intensity with which
officials treated the situation, it was easy for students to play
their roles convincingly, they said.
If a similar attack were to occur, law enforcement would enter
the scene first to secure the area and ensure that there were no
further threats on the scene such as suspects or hazardous
material. Then the fire department and medical units would arrive
to provide aid to victims.
In this instance, law enforcement officials did detect chemicals
on the scene that supposedly overcame some fire fighters. Safety
officials also would not get too close to the scene because of the
uncertainty of the threat involved, said Lieutenant Mike Herek,
director of MTA security for the Sheriff’s department.
Victims were taken to a fire department base about 20 feet from
the scene, decontaminated by fire hoses, and transported to a
make-shift triage above the field.
UCLA theater students, who had been informed of the event two
days prior to the drill and had excused absences from their classes
for the day, did not have much time to prepare, but played
convincing parts, law officials said. It was not difficult, they
said, to improvise their roles as terrorist victims.
“It was easy to get caught up in it. … Having your
really good friends being hurt, you get into it,” said
student Amanda Glaze, whose eyes were red and swollen from the
amount of sobbing she had done during the drill.
The students’ reactions also reflected a real-life attack
in the frustration that resulted from not being given immediate
medical aid.
“It took them half an hour to get to us,” said
student Kiki Crossdale, referring to the seeming inefficiency in
treatment for the victims.
Another student role-player, Nathan Longdon, complained that his
“leg was supposed to be snapped in half and (medical
officials) kept moving it.”
Herek later said the students’ reactions were expected but
the decision to hold off on medical aid until the area is secure is
a gamble that officials are required to take. No similar drills are
planned for the immediate future, but the Sheriff’s
department undergoes some type of terrorist training every six
months, Herek said.