At major sporting events such as the Super Bowl, hand-selected police snipers are deployed to respond to any security threats that may arise. While this might sound alarming to some attendees, this form of security is actually standard practice at major events like this.
Snipers can be found at every major public venue to ensure the safety of both fans and potential terrorist attacks that may take place inside or outside. Be it an arena concert or NBA match-up, police snipers will likely be stationed around to act as overwatch.
Sniper teams are specially-trained to work in concert with other law enforcement agencies and coordinate with helicopters, as well as to coordinate with rappellers who rappel down buildings or structures with rope suspension techniques for use when rescuing people from high places. Snipers also conduct surveillance in areas that drones cannot, which can prove extremely helpful.
TacFlow Academy instructors were at Hard Rock Stadium training police snipers prior to Super Bowl 50, providing overwatch positions such as main stands and upper deck. Snipers were instructed on identifying threats while getting an aerial view of playing fields, stadium, and any surrounding area. Snipers practiced with various target types from small diamonds up to large grenades for practice before learning how to set up covert or overt hides as well as how best to deploy their rifles.
These snipers were specially trained in using both long and short range rifles, as well as various sight systems like tri- and quad mounts for faster deployment of sights at both short range and longer distances. Furthermore, these mounts allowed quick switching from prone position to standing position allowing snipers to increase range while also increasing accuracy at longer distances.
Mike Gibson’s (MGM) rifle traps were custom built to withstand multiple rounds from.308 Winchester rifles while keeping ricochets and spalling away from impacting the stadium. Additionally, KF Armory’s MIB2S modular interlocking ballistic barriers can stop up to 50 BMG rounds from reaching their targets.
At large public events like the Super Bowl and other public gatherings, police sniper training can be intense. This involves live firing their precision rifles into rifle traps as well as conducting tactical training drills using various precision rifles – in addition to classroom and non-kinetic training courses offered by TacFlow Academy which provide classroom and non-kinetic instruction – such as Police Sniper Response to a Public Venue (PSRPV) training that can take place anywhere across the US.