SIDNEY, Neb. -- An old restaurant in the Nebraska Panhandle was the site of training for Sidney Police and the Cheyenne County Sheriff's Office.

“This would be in response to an open building suspect or an active shooter in a building," Police Chief Joe Aikens said. "Anything where we might have to go clear an area from somebody who might be armed or dangerous.”

On Friday afternoon, law enforcement practiced the tactics in the old Perkins building in Sidney.

“I became aware that the building just changed ownership,” Aikens said. “I reached out to the new owners and asked if we could get an opportunity to get in here and train for a few hours and they were like, ‘Heck yes, it sounds like great community involvement to let the police department, and sheriff’s office come in and do some room clearing training.’” 

The property is now owned by Maverik gas station, who plans to tear down the old Perkins to build a new gas station.

Aikens said this is the first time Sidney police have trained in a restaurant building, and he is thankful to the owners of Maverik for letting the police use it.

“Every opportunity to get into a new building and train room clearing and different footprints, we take that opportunity,” Aikens said. “We don’t want to react to something that’s already happened. We want to be prepared for anything that can happen in the future.”

Aikens said they use an old house in Sidney for room clearing training and have used old warehouse building as well.

“We’ve reached out to farmers who have abandoned farmhouses and we’ve used those for clearing,” Aikens said. “The more realistic we can make the training, the better our officers will respond when the real thing happens.”