Tuesday, May 31, 2011

ATF sets off IEDs at MCC-Blue River bomb training

An explosive finale capped off a month of ATF training sessions held at MCC-Blue River in May. Most recently, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) offered instruction on improvised explosive devices to area law enforcement officers. ATF took advantage of the Public Safety Institute at MCC-Blue River’s facilities for the training.

Bomb experts from more than twenty local agencies attended the ATF sponsored knowledge sharing sessions. At the end of several days of instruction, ATF chemists concocted six explosive mixtures based on recipes that may be encountered in the field. These six improvised bombs were set off at the Kansas City Police Department’s explosive range
to demonstrate their explosive attributes. As a control reference, ATF experts set off a standard explosive as well, for a total of seven explosions.


Chancellor Mark James visited the KCPD Explosives Range along with Mike Hendershot, director of the Public Safety Institute at MCC-Blue River, to greet the press. James was formerly the special agent in charge of the ATF Kansas City Field Division and oversaw all ATF actions in Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska, and Iowa. This explosives demonstration brought the chancellor together with colleagues from recent years.

Though the Joplin tornado got most of the press attention that day, Fox 4 and channel 5 both had reporters and cameras on hand, as did the Kansas City Star newspaper.
Fire hovers in the air after an ATF bomb goes off

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