Men dressed like futuristic soldiers rappel from a helicopter with speed and determination. As they clear their rooftop objective, witnesses post on popular social media the presence of black helicopters in their neighborhood. Comments are numerous and rumors of a government takeover take root.If one assumes that the writer is writing from personal experience it begs the question as to why the hell the community of Sterling Heights, Michigan ( population 129,699 ) needs a black helicopter. The author has as instructed basic and advanced SWAT / Tactical officer courses, basic and advanced Sniper courses, Cold Weather / Winter Sniper Operations and Active Shooter Response courses, Tactical Lifesaver Course and others. Winter Sniper Operations? Obviously the author has carved himself out a pretty soft career and would hate to see anything happen to it. But police work is serious business according to Office Barney Fife.
“Entry team leader to command post, objective clear, two in custody, weapons secure.”
This tactical operation wasn’t a government takeover, but a warrant service on a homicide suspect.
After this operation, I was fascinated by the social media discussion that blossomed among ill-informed knuckleheads who were certain that the government was taking over. As they came to learn that the black helicopter had delivered a SWAT team, the conversation turned to the topic of “overkill” on the part of the police.
We trainers have spent the past decade trying to ingrain in our students the concept that the American police officer works a battlefield every day he patrols his sector.That claim is debatable. The National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund puts the total at 1540 for the ten year period 2003 to 2012 including 457 from auto crashes, 77 from motorcycle crashes, 138 struck by vehicles and a mysterious 177 deaths from job related illnesses. Five hundred and sixty-four were shot to death but the report does not break that down to criminal and self inflicted, accidental shootings. One was poisoned in the line of duty which makes one wonder what his duty was.
The fact is, more American police officers have died fighting crime in the United States over the past 12 years than American soldiers were killed in action at war in Afghanistan.
Getting back to the Officer Fife, The trouble is, in his estimate, when things go wrong SWAT team get bad publicity. Actually they are fast getting a bad rap when things go right as the public appetite for this high drama has reached the point of diminishing returns. No one has asserted that tactical assaults are always wrong simply that they are grossly over used, dangerous, and abusive.
The negative press comes on the rare occasion when commanders make mistakes such as using a NFDD (flash bang) when young children are known to be in the home, or deploying the team to apprehend a person that isn’t a threat just to get your team some practice serving warrants. The most common mistake is hitting the wrong door.It is perfectly acceptable to deploy flash bang against a citizen guilty only of growing 3 marijuana plants? It is a mistake when a SWAT team is deployed against a person who isn't a threat just to get the team experience? It should be a felony and the commander should be jailed. Getting the address wrong should lead to the responsible party's career ending on the spot. It is people like the author of this post who are the problem. The propensity to use excessive force by certain police departments influences the recruitment of future warrior cops with an "us against them" mentality. One wonders when the taxpayers of Douglasville, Georgia ( population 30961 ) whose recruitment video I chose as an example will run out of money or patience first. There are plenty of other recruiting video to be viewed on YouTube but his particular exhibition of wanton waste of tax dollars is breath taking. Naturally the town has a SWAT team for reasons known only to the town fathers but it also has the Taj Mahal of police stations.
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