Earlier today, the City of Medford, along with Ashland and Grants Pass personnel conducted an anti-vehicle barrier training at Lithia & Driveway Fields. The anti-vehicle barriers will be used to help ensure the safety of residents and visitors attending outdoor events in Southern Oregon.
During the training, they covered how to safely operate the barricades and how to deploy them.
Background: In November 2022, all three police departments were awarded a Regional State Preparedness and Incident Response Equipment (SPIRE) Grant for the anti-vehicle barriers.
Each city received a Vehicle Barrier System that includes a trailer and eight barricades that can easily and quickly be set up by city staff. The cities will share their kits with other municipalities within Jackson and Josephine counties, so up to 24 barriers can be deployed during specific events such as the Pear Blossom Festival, Ashland Halloween Parade, Boatnik, etc.
This project equips Southern Oregon with shared capability to rapidly deploy an effective anti-vehicle barrier system to protect people attending large public gatherings against vehicle-borne threats (vehicle-ramming attacks, vehicle-borne improvised explosive devices, or vehicles unintentionally striking pedestrians).
Source: City of Medford
