Municipal Integrated Emergency Response Team

Shortly after the tragic death of Staff Sergeant Ronald McKay in November of 1974, the Delta Police Department identified the need for special training to handle high risk situations. The Emergency Response Team became operational in early 1975.

In 2003 the Delta Police Emergency Response Team joined forces with Port Moody, Abbotsford and New Westminster to form the Municipal Integrated Emergency Response Team (MIERT). The team responds to MIERT incidents in all four cities.

The team plays a major role in providing special resources needed to reduce or if possible remove the potential for loss of life and threat to safety during confrontations with armed criminals and other high risk situations.

The very nature of the MIERT must be one of controlled and unified actions, utilizing the minimum force necessary to successfully deal with a high risk situation. In all operations involving high risk situations confined to a specific location the MIERT is deployed as an entity within the total police response at the scene. Any actions by the MIERT members either individually or collectively must always be within the framework of the laws and the best traditions of the police service.

Components of the MIERT:

MIERT is called upon when it is clearly evident that the situation has escalated to the point where normal police response capabilities are inadequate. The assigned incident commander will then assume all responsibility and command for all police actions at the scene.

Each MIERT officer has received rigorous specialized training and participates in scenario based training exercises on an ongoing basis to further develop the officers' expertise in their specific role on the MIERT.