Las unidades especiales de la Policía Municipal y SAMUR-Protección Civil repiten su actividad coordinada ante un presunto ataque a un edificio municipal

Inma Sanz and Sonia Cea in the training exercise of the special security units of the Municipal Police and SAMUR-Civil Protection

Today, members of the special units of the Madrid Municipal Police and healthcare personnel from SAMUR-Civil Protection have participated in a training exercise to practice their coordinated activity in the event of a presumed attack (in this case a terrorist attack) in a municipal building, which took place at Caja Mágica. The event was attended by the Deputy Mayor and Delegate of Security and Emergency Situations, Inma Sanz, accompanied by the councilor of the Usera district, Sonia Cea, as well as municipal security and emergency officials.

Over 75 municipal employees participated in this exercise, along with vehicles. The exercise simulated a terrorist attack with multiple victims in a municipal building, taking place within a preventive security service in which components of the special security units of the Municipal Police participated. The Central Security Police Department’s four teams were the first to act, reinforced by agents from the Night Police Department of Citizen Protection and the Air Support Department (Drones).

Subsequently, after municipal police neutralized two armed attackers, first using electronic control devices (ECDs, better known as «tasers») and then with a short-barreled firearm, during a confrontation in a basement of the building, SAMUR-Civil Protection healthcare workers sprang into action. Protected by police units, four teams, including a unit that works in preventive interventions of the so-called DEPAS (Special Device for the Prevention of Antisocial Acts), attended to a dozen «injured» individuals after setting up a Victims Meeting Point (PRV).

Training Plan 2024

This exercise carried out today is part of the 2024 Training Plan of the Madrid Municipal Police, in collaboration with the emergency service SAMUR-Civil Protection. These training exercises are conducted periodically by the security and emergency services of the City Council, sometimes with the participation of other security forces and emergency services.

Last year, SAMUR-Civil Protection participated in around fifty exercises, in collaboration with other services and institutions, to improve coordination among all and prepare for complex procedures. The Municipal Police also participates every year in dozens of training exercises: in 2023, they took part in exercises focused on accidents, explosions, missing persons, key communication infrastructures, healthcare institutions, etc., in addition to numerous exercises organized by the integral police districts.