Local police division's efforts to stabilize peace
Like the other agencies that make up the Plant City Police Department, its Special Weapons and Tactics (S.W.A.T.) team has proven itself in protecting the community it serves.
The local police department’s S.W.A.T. team is comprised of 12 members from all of the department divisions and is an Ad-Hoc function of the Investigation Services Department. The team’s agenda is to identify and confine suspects of a crime, making an evaluation of any threats, use appropriate weaponry and tactics to contain a scene and minimalize any danger to law enforcement or the community.
When a threat has been identified, officers on the scene use judgement as to whether the situation is one that may be out of their control and is in need of a greater magnitude of force.
“If you have a situation where you have initially, officers go on-the-scene and they’re doing the investigation, and then it turns into something else, that is when the time is called that they (bring) in S.W.A.T. and also additional resources,” said Capt. Robert McLellan of the Plant City Police Department.
When the request is made to bring in the team, it goes higher up a chain of command ultimately reaching Plant City Police Chief James Bradford.
Once he gives consent for S.W.A.T. to be deployed, the command is then sent down the chain of command and the team is assembled for active duty.
Officer Thomas Trimble is a part of the team that is called out for missions occasionally. He says that being a member isn’t about harming a suspect but first negotiating with that individual when the situation calls for it.
“What we’re trying to accomplish is a peaceful resolution,” he said. “That’s ultimately the end goal.”
To become a S.W.A.T. member, an officer has to go through the process of being a field training officer, going through try-outs with physical activities during the morning and tactical activities in the afternoon. Before receiving a certificate of completion, the trainee is in what is known as a probationary period.
“You go through extensive training from clearance shooting, some of the tactics that we use, the verbage that we use,” Trimble said. “Once you complete that, you’re issued a certificate which then brings you out of probation and you’re a member of the team.”
Training takes place not only by police departments, but sheriff’s offices as well.
“We look at everything across the board between disciplinary action, how they handle themselves in stressful situations, how they interact with other members on their squad, coming over to our specific team,” he said. “A lot of these guys – they do have some prior knowledge and we want guys that are willing to learn (and are) easy to work with”
Daniel Hernandez is also a team member who serves alongside Trimble. As a full-fledged S.W.A.T. member, he’s always ready to help others who are trying to become a part of the squadron.
“After we get our members caught up with us, and they complete the basic S.W.A.T. school, (they) go off into more advanced tactics and branch off from there.”
Team members also undergo monthly training with physical exercises such as hand-to-hand combat, practicing at a shooting range, and going over different tactics.
During training sessions, its mandatory to wear tactical gear so they can acclimate to the additional weight, better preparing for an actual situation. The gear consists of a helmet, a ballistic vest with armored plates to stop high-powered rifle rounds, agency-issued rifles, and night gear when needed.The squad is then taken to their destina-tion in an armored military-style vehicle called a BearCat.
The Plant City police squad assists and is assisted by other law enforcement agencies when necessary. The local department has a mutual aid agreement with the S.W.A.T. teams of other police departments such as those in Temple Terrace, Tampa, and Lakeland.
In some instances, either squad members from other police departments or the sheriff’s office will be requested to assist when those on duty are suffering from heat exhaustion, hunger, or anything else that may hinder them from completing their mission.The initial squad members can then fall back as their replacements step forward. Fire rescue, medics and an ambulance are on the scene with S.W.A.T. if there should be any casualties when suspects are confronted.
Going into combat mode after having a day free of confrontation requires team members to remain vigilant under those circumstances, Hernandez said.
“They transition almost like the changing of the hats, from a patrol position or an investigative position…,” Trimble added. This year, the Plant City squad has been called out for situations related to narcotics search warrants and barricaded individuals.
“Knowing the training they’ve gone through and the training they do in house, and they’ve received outside, I always have 100% confidence that they’re going to be able to do the job to the best of their ability,” McLellan said. “To see the team per-form at the function that they do, it’ll make anybody proud, and it’s even an honor to be able to help command those people when they do whatever they do.”
