ST. LOUIS — Crime scene tape and police officers surrounded Busch Stadium Wednesday, but no laws were broken and no one was arrested. The activity was part of a drill months in the making.
At times Wednesday morning, stadium grounds looked alarming. Police officers were ducking behind statues and running around with weapons drawn. All of it was coordinated and planned.
Jefferson County SWAT Commander and 03Eleven Tactical Trainer, Brian Rossomanno, explains the drill.
"It was an active shooter incident, which also incorporated a barricaded suspect," he said. "We also tried to recreate all the different things that responders would be confronted with when dealing with a mass casualty event in a heavily populated area."
Law enforcement from multiple counties showed up to practice, but this drill had a large missing piece: crowds.
"It's really hard to recreate 40 thousand fans," Rossomanno said. "We had several role players, a bunch of role players which was helpful."
Live actors were joined by props and audio-visual effects.
"We simulated the crowd noise," Rossomanno said. "The stadium had crowd noise playing over the speakers, so we simulate that crowd noise. We put a bunch of obstacles in their way, dumpsters and trash cans, stuff that they had to navigate through to simulate working through a crowd."
5 On Your Side asked Cardinals Director of Security, Phil Melcher, what grade he would give the response.
"I'd probably give it a B+ to an A-," he said. "We identified some issues that we can work on, but overall, I think it went very well."
Takeaways he can pass on to other Major League Baseball teams.
"We let the guys have the rivalry out on the field," Melcher said, "but we definitely communicate with each other because we understand if one of us gets hit, it's going to hurt all of us."
David Fritchley saw part of the drill this morning as he dropped kids off for a field trip. He told 5 On Your Side, he was happy to see part of the training.
"Oh yes, definitely, especially these days. It's a messed up world for some reason."
Game day security extends beyond the stadium. The Cardinals coordinate with parking lots, hotels and surrounding businesses to help keep fans safe.