S.W.A.T. Teams

When a law enforcement agency has extraordinary power available to it, does it tend to use it more often, whether really needed or not, just because it has it and wants to use it?

I was thinking the other day of a stand-off not too long ago in McHenry County on Lamb Road near Charles Road. Anyone remember that one? Deputies surrounded the house for hours and then took a man into custody and hauled him off to the South Street psychiatric facility.

Does anyone remember any criminal charge ever filed against him? Maybe that’s because none ever was.

Then I got to thinking about the sheriff’s department response in the Wonder Lake area to the residence of David Maxson in September 2006. In only 46 minutes the situation escalated to the point where deputies were threatened and Maxson was fatally shot. After reading the police reports and attending the coroner’s inquest, I wondered how different the outcome would have been, if deputies had taken a more reasoned approach and created less confrontation with a person who presented symptoms of mental illness and/or intoxication.

And this got me to thinking about why the McHenry County Sheriff’s Department would have such a unit. Who’s in it? What are the qualifications and training for deputies assigned to it? How does it function?

First, what is “Special Weapons and Tactics” (S.W.A.T.)?

S.W.A.T. is commonly an elite special operations tactical unit in American police departments. It is trained to perform high-risk operations that fall outside of the abilities of regular patrol officers, including serving high-risk arrest warrants, hostage rescue, counter-terrorism, and engaging heavily-armed criminals.

SWAT teams are often equipped with specialized firearms including assault rifles, submachine guns, shotguns, carbines, riot control agents, stun grenades, and high-powered rifles for snipers. They have specialized equipment including heavy body armor, entry tools, armored vehicles, advanced night vision optics, and motion detectors for covertly determining the positions of hostages or hostage takers inside of an enclosed structure.

Watch for a follow-up article about the McHenry County SWAT team.

The source of a portion of the above information is Wikipedia, which allows copying of its content.