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SALT LAKE CITY — Multiple mock protests and fake car accidents will take place downtown Thursday evening as part of a police exercise.
Salt Lake City police are conducting a large-scale training exercise that will impact traffic, according to a news release. Road closures were expected to take effect at 6 p.m.
West Temple will be closed from South Temple to 200 South, and 200 South will be closed from West Temple to 200 West, according to the news release. 200 West will stay open, but traffic will be restricted and limited.
Due to a training exercise the following roads will close at 6:00 p.m.
— SLC Police Dept. (@slcpd) August 22, 2019
- West Temple from South Temple to 200 S.
- 200 South from West Temple to 200 W.
- 200 West will be open to limited traffic
- Avoid going west on 100 South from Main
Roads should reopen by morning commute pic.twitter.com/fbGIpqS7hN
Drivers on 100 South are encouraged to avoid going west from Main Street, and large vehicles are asked to avoid the area altogether since there will be limited opportunities to turn around.
The training is aimed at helping police train for crowd control events like protests, considering recent incidents throughout the country and city, the news release states.
Recently, havoc broke loose downtown when Utah Inland Port protestors clashed with police.
Additionally, the release said the exercise will benefit police considering that the city frequently hosts large events.
One such event is the United Nations conference, slated to be held this month.
The training will run late into the night, according to police. Media was invited to attend the training until 8:30 p.m., but the exercise was expected to run later than that. Police didn't have an exact end time but said roads would reopen by the morning commute.
Several agencies will participate, including Salt Lake City Fire, Utah Highway Patrol, Salt Lake City Emergency Management and others.
