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ATTLEBORO - It was only a matter of seconds before 10 police officers dressed in black SWAT helmets and black bulletproof vests with POLICE emblazoned in bright white letters stormed a house after smashing windows and breaking open doors.

It looked and sounded like the real thing late Tuesday morning, but it was only a simulated drug raid.

And unlike an actual raid, they did it over and over again and huddled outside the vacant house at 20 Curtis Ave. afterward to critique their actions.

The aim is to improve their skills so that when the real thing goes down, no one gets hurt.

"We're doing this to better prepare ourselves for any real life encounters," said Detective Lt. John Otrando, who commands the police department's Tactical Response Team with Sgts. John Parkinson and Michael McDonnell. Training by the 13 members of the unit is all the more important in preparation for unpredictable events, such as the mass shooting at Fort Hood in Texas and the office shootings in Orlando, Fla., last week.

In addition, a state trooper was shot last week in a New Bedford drug raid, but was not hurt because the bullet was blocked by his bulletproof vest.

"That's why the guys train. You are going to encounter things like that," Otrando said, adding that the officers in the New Bedford raid were properly trained and equipped, and no one was hurt.

After a year of training, the Attleboro team began operating on the streets last year. Recently, team members responded to a house in South Attleboro where a man thought to be armed had barricaded himself.

Mostly, the training is performed in "sterile" environments or at the shooting range, Otrando said.

But thanks to the owner of the Curtis Avenue home, Daniel Lopes, the team got to use the house - which is scheduled for demolition - to simulate an actual raid.

Otrando said the team approached the practice raid as if it were real. That meant taking photographs of the house, familiarizing themselves with the layout as best they could by looking in the windows and forming an operational plan.

None of the officers had been inside the house before, he said.

In the drill, 10 members of the unit were divided into two five-man teams. One team approached from the rear of the home while the initial entry team broke through the front door.

They were armed with a range of weapons, including tactical M-4 rifles and non-lethal weapons such as bean bag guns and Tasers. For the purposes of the training exercise on Curtis Avenue, none of the weapons were loaded, the street was blocked and the neighbors were notified in advance.

"Red Team is in position," a voice cracks over Otrando's police radio.

"Move," Otrando orders into his radio, as the five members of "Blue Team" approach the front of the house in a line behind the front member holding a bulletproof shield.

"Initiate," Otrando says as the men enter the house after one of the officers break the door open with a metal battering ram.

"Police. On the ground," the men can be heard yelling from outside the house.

"Bathroom is clear. Bathroom is clear."

"The element of surprise is very important in any tactical operation," Police Chief Richard Pierce said while watching the unit train.

"Generally, the bad guys have all the time in the world to think about what they are going to do when we respond," Pierce said.

The police chief says the police department also can use the regional Metropolitan Law Enforcement Council SWAT team and the state police unit, but the city police department team can assemble quicker when needed.

"To me, it's important that we have a well-trained team in the city. They are really dedicated individuals," Pierce said.

One member, John Hynes, who is a team trainer, has practiced with several other tactical operation teams, including the regional Metro-LEC team and the Pawtucket police SWAT team. Member Kevin Fuoco is a trained emergency medical technician.

"It's a nice resource to have, but you hope you never have to use it," Pierce said. "But in this day and age, you never know what you are going to be confronted with."

DAVID LINTON can be reached at 508-236-0338 or at dlinton@thesunchronicle.com.