Posted: 3/8/06
SWAT-It does work!
 Members of the Chisago County SWAT team practice closing on an injured person in a dangerous situation. Holding ìbunkers,î the team is protected from incoming fire at the same time they are in a position to return fire. |
By Patrick Tepoorten
When Patrol Deputy Bill Juneau thinks back, it is to a 2003 shooting incident in North Branch that left a woman dead. On that fateful night, Juneau, a junior officer with the Chisago County Sheriffís office, was called upon by much more senior officers to lend his previous experiences with the Pine County Sheriffís department in order to end a horrific situation.
For Sheriff Todd Rivard, it was an incident in which his officers were serving a warrant at an active methamphetamine house. Deputies attempting to clear the structure were overcome with ìcookingî fumes almost immediately, making it impossible to do their job and putting themselves, and others, in danger.
While neither incident by itself was likely responsible for Rivardís decision to train and equip a Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) team, they were evidence of a changing environment in Chisago county that called for a new level of readiness. A mobile force prepared to react to volatile situations that patrol deputies simply are not trained to handle.
ìThings have changed over the years,î said Rivard from his office in the basement of the county government center. ìMeth is much more of an issue. It makes people more unpredictable, and more people are armed.î
So, in late February 2005, the decision was made to pursue the formation of a county SWAT team, with up to 12 members of the county sheriffís office (roughly half the patrol deputy roster), as well as any members of local police departments that were interested.
Lieutenant Steve Pouti was placed in charge of the future team administratively, and Juneau, along with Matt Beckman, was given the responsibility of operational control for the team.
SETTING UP THE TEAM
Without a federal or state guideline to follow, Juneau and Beckman set to work creating qualifications for potential volunteers. The physical requirements included the ability to run better than a nine-minute mile, as well as a set number of sit-ups and push-ups. The best times would be taken. Volunteers would be required to qualify on a ìmove and shootî 100-round shooting range. Again, the best scores and lowest times would be taken.
Finally, volunteers would be put through an oral interview. ìWe were looking for team players,î said Juneau in an interview last Thursday. ìPolice officers, especially rural ones, work alone. We needed to know that guys could follow orders in a structured environment and operate well under extreme pressures.î
A year later, the Chisago county SWAT team, which consists of 11 members of the sheriffís office, and David Janssen from the North Branch Police Department, have been operational since September and have been called on a handful of times, both in county and as an assist force in Pine County.
WHATíS SO DIFFERENT ABOUT SWAT?
Perhaps a better question is: what isnít different about SWAT? Far from a typically outfitted patrol deputy, members of SWAT are outfitted from head to toe in such a way as to appear, and act, much more like a special forces unit than police officers.
It starts with bullet-proof kevlar helmets most commonly associated with the American military. Level 3A kevlar vests protect their torsos and knee pads protect their legs. And that is just their defensive gear.
Each member of the SWAT, along with their patrol pistol, is trained to use assault rifles. The team is outfitted with military surplus M-16ís as well as AR-15ís, complete with ìred-dotî sighting systems.
The team is also trained to use gas munitions, like tear gas, and distraction devices, like flash-bang grenades. A flash-bang is an explosive device that, instead of causing permanent injury or death, is intended to stun people to the point that they are unable to use fine motor skills for a short period of time. They work like one might suspect from the description. A very loud noise overwhelms the auditory function and a bright flash assaults the visual senses.
The result is a roughly three-second window in which a potential bad guy is helpless to react to his surroundings.
The team is also outfitted with varying styles of bunkers, which are police shields most commonly associated with riot response. Some are simple black, others have headlights for dark situations, and yet another is called a ìclear shoot-thru.î A clear shield roughly an inch thick, it is designed to stop up to a .308 round while allowing the officer to shoot back, right through the bunker itself, with a 9mm round.
Since the team must face the possibility of situations in highly populated areas like residential neighborhoods, special fragmenting ammunition is also a part of the supplies. These rounds are designed to essentially disintegrate upon impact with almost anything, eliminating the possibility that an errant round will travel through walls from house to house. ìWe are accountable for every round we shoot,î said Juneau. With fragmenting rounds, the possibility of a round traveling farther than the intended target is all but eliminated.
Night vision and tazers are also used by the team, and all of the situational gear is stored in a special van designed to store it as well as transport the team. Personal gear: vests, helmets, rifles, etc., are carried by the officers themselves so they are personally prepared to react to volatile situations at a momentís notice.
THE PRICE TAG
As one might imagine, supplying a SWAT team with the tools they need to be effective is not cheap. Juneau estimated the cost to outfit a team member at $2,300 per individual. That figure is reduced by $800 when federal grant money is considered.
The teamís resident Web surfer, Tim Sitlow, is credited with saving the team thousands upon thousands of dollars in costs through his vigilant attention to online military clearinghouses, which offer the needed gear at vast savings and sometimes even free, on a first come first serve basis.
A COORDINATED RESPONSE
With the teamís basic training well in hand, Chisago county SWAT is now looking to advance its training with other departments and in unique situations. Both Isanti County and the state Bureau of Criminal Apprehension have expressed interest in co-training, as has the State Patrol.
Juneau called that kind of multi-jurisdictional training ìkeyî to having the most effective response in any situation. ìIt isnít like Hollywood,î he mused. ìThere are no egos. Itís more of a chance for everyone to get to know each other and get everybody on the same team.î
Since outside departments routinely provide assistance for each other, coordination and even simply knowing and trusting the officer standing next to you can be the difference between a satisfying outcome and a potential disaster.
As well, training for worst-case scenarios can help the team respond effectively when needed. To that end, SWAT is encouraging county schools to allow training inside their buildings during off hours. If that seems extreme, Juneau pointed out that the shooting incident at Columbine High School in Colorado put a bright light on a situation that no one cared to consider beforehand.
SWAT is also constantly on the look-out for vacant and abandoned homes and buildings. They allow the team to come in and practice clearing rooms, breaking down doors, and familiarizing themselves with the support tactics that result in no deputies ever being alone in a situation.
On its own, SWAT continues to train twice a month, for about four hours a session. Since the team never knows what it might face, they must train for everything, including the unpredictable.
WHAT IS THE BENEFIT?
Given the armament, training and tactics of the county SWAT team, one might be surprised at what Juneau believes it brings to the county. ìThe single greatest benefit the SWAT team brings to the county is safety. Safety for the officers and safety for the suspects.î
The teamís tactics, which could accurately be described as shock and awe, coupled with blinding speed, reduces greatly the chances of making dangerous situations infinitely more so. ìWhen officers are trained to deal with these situations, and have modern equipment and tactics, a much higher degree of these situations are resolved without injuries,î stated Juneau.
Case in point: when the SWAT team served a warrant recently in a very dangerous situation, the suspect in question was so overwhelmed by flash-bangs and the speed of the team, he had no time to even consider responding with force. In fact, he would later comment to SWAT members that he almost ìwetî himself. That is exactly the response SWAT is looking for - too frightened to even think about responding to SWATís presence with violent action.
Also, the training is a benefit to the county even when there is no official call for SWAT. When a young man led local departments on a high speed chase from North Branch to Forest Lake recently and then refused to exit his vehicle, a dangerous and unpredictable scene was created. Calling out the SWAT team was being considered by officers on the scene. However, since SWAT members are also patrol deputies with a regular shift, there was a handful of SWAT members already on the scene. Forming two teams, they approached the vehicle using their now-ingrained tactics, broke out a window and tazed the suspect before the situation was allowed to get any further out of hand.
For the county, it was the best of both worlds. SWAT training in action without the costly advent of an official call-out.
ìIT DOES WORKî
Juneau is a firm believer in SWATís effectiveness. He was part of a similar team in Pine County and believes SWAT to be an extremely effective tool in keeping situations under control and therefore greatly reducing the risk of going from bad to worse.
ìIt does work. There is no two ways about it,î he said, and that attitude seems to come from a desire to protect the residents of Chisago County from having to face terrible situations to the degree he is capable. ìMost people donít understand how bad people can be, and thatís the way I want it,î he concluded.
Is it expensive? Yes. Are there situations on a weekly basis that might easily justify the existence of the team? No. But that isnít really what it is about.
SWAT is about that one situation - the school shooting, the hostage situation - that most people, SWAT included, hope the residents of the county never have to face. If there is one thing communities across the country are learning though, it is that they are not immune. Things arenít happening ìsomewhere else.î They are happening in their hometowns, and there are one of two possible results: a situation handled effectively with as little loss of life and/or injury as possible, or a situation that escalates out of control quickly due to a lack of training and equipment by officers on the scene.
Of course, no one likes to face the possibility that their town will be featured on the national news for a tragic situation. They would likely rather be featured for local law enforcementís efficient level of response. That is what SWAT is about.
In the future, some far-away time that no one likes to ponder, it is Chisago Countyís hope that the news will be covering heroes, trained and efficient in dangerous situations, instead of the avoidable funerals of its residents, innocent or not.
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