A hostage takeover at the Floyd County Jail? Make that a “simulated hostage” event that was pulled off Tuesday to the surprise of some of the top administrators in the Floyd County Sheriff’s Office.

Those administrators were then put to the test with a simulated press conference Wednesday where Chief Deputy Tom Caldwell, jail administrator Ricky Agan and Floyd County Police Capt. Tom Ewing were grilled by the local press.

The briefing started off on a very real note as the members of the media were kept waiting for close to an hour before the press conference got under way.

Chief Deputy Caldwell tried to delay the press conference for three hours so he could get the facts of the make-believe event in order.

Caldwell then detailed the mock scenario that involved an inmate faking a suicide to gain the attention of jail staff. Several jailers were taken hostage leading to a standoff with jail personnel. The SWAT team was called in and finally determined to use force to take control of the staged situation.

Before it was over, the simulation included the projection of one deputy being killed along with three inmates. During the process of searching the cellblock after the incident, officers found what appeared to be an explosive device and the bomb squad had to be called in to dispose of it as part of the drill.

After Caldwell, Agan and Ewing were questioned by the press for close to 45 minutes, Agan said, “To know your strengths, you’ve got to know your weaknesses.” Caldwell said the exercise quickly showed the jail command staff a couple of things they could do better in working with the SWAT team. He declined to specify what those situations were.

“We got an opportunity to learn in real time what we can do in the event of a real occurrence,” said Caldwell. He said the drill also showed how the Sheriff’s Office needed to work with other agencies, including local police and emergency management personnel.

Of the simulated event itself, Agan said the jail staff would be required to go to the aid of an inmate in the event of a medical emergency.

“I think it opened up a lot of eyes of the staff. It showed how easily we could get hurt,” Agan said.

Sheriff Tim Burkhalter, who did not participate in the press conference, said that Caldwell didn’t know the drill included a press conference until about five minutes before the briefing was scheduled.

“It’s actually part of our training and our response to any situation we have, including our public information officer who is Chief Deputy Caldwell,” Burkhalter said.