Los Alamos County

Officers in the Los Alamos Police Department have the opportunity to participate as a member of specialized teams to handle situations that are unusual or require specialized training or equipment.

Los Alamos Police Department Bomb Squad 

The Los Alamos Police Department Bomb Squad is a FBI Certified Bomb Squad. Membership in the bomb squad is voluntary and applicants must undergo a rigorous competitive testing process prior to being selected for service on the squad.

Commander Preston Ballew is the commander of the LAPD Bomb Squad . LAPD Bomb Technicians recieve their training and certification at the FBI's Hazardous Devices School (HDS) at Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville Alabama. 

LAPD Bomb Techinicians received hundreds of hours of additional advanced training and are required to attend recertification training and testing at HDS every three years.

LAPD Bomb Squad has jurisdictional authority to respond to all potential bombing incidents within our region, including Los Alamos County and the Los Alamos National Laboratory. The LAPD Bomb Squad is tasked with providing a regional response capability for bombing incidents in Northern New Mexico and may also be called to assit other bomb squads through out New Mexico as well as Southern Colorado and the four corners area.

Crash Team

The Los Alamos Police Department has organized a team of officers to respond to and investigate serious traffic crashes. These officers volunteer for this assignment and receive extensive advanced training in the investigation of traffic crashes. When a serious accident happens our crash team members are called out to the scene to investigate. Officers, at the completion of their investigation must then deliver an accurate, easy to understand analysis of what can often be a complex technical situation.