SWAT team trains in Washington County

Local law enforcement received high-intensity training last week. The Washington Sheriff?s Department hosted SWAT team exercises from May 2 to May 6. Law enforcement from surrounding counties traveled to Washington County to participate in the advanced training course. The event came a few weeks prior to National Law Enforcement Week, which is next week.

The Department of Homeland Security paid for the training, which was $700 per officer. Local emergency management coordinators, such as Washington County Emergency Management Coordinator Larry Smith, wrote the grant that secured the funding. The grant paid for the training of 48 officers. Half of those trained in Washington County last week, and the other half are training in Ottumwa this week.

One of the exercises the officers did was to do target practice at the shooting range at Clemmons Creek. Washington County Deputy Eric Weber attended the training exercises in Washington County, and said the officers practiced shooting at targets with their duty-issued handguns and rifles. The officers also practiced what he called ?vehicle assaults,? which involves arresting a potentially hostile suspect who is in a vehicle.

The officers performed some exercises in the Washington High School. They trained for how to handle an armed intruder and other violent scenarios. Building 1 at Orchard Hill is empty, and so that building was used as a training facility as well.

The lead instructor of the course was Steve Claggett of Dallas, Texas. He has worked in the Dallas SWAT team for 25 years and now runs a company that trains tactical teams.

Weber said most of the 24 officers in the class are on special tactical teams that are routinely called out on real-life missions. He said not everyone from the Washington County Sheriff?s Department was able to be in the class. He said five deputies attended last week?s class and one is attending the class this week in Ottumwa. Five officers from the Washington Police Department also participated.

The other local law enforcement entities that participated were the sheriff?s departments of Jefferson, Des Moines and Keokuk counties, and the police departments of Fairfield, Burlington, Muscatine and Keokuk.

Weber said that shotguns are used in some of the exercises, but most of the time the officers are using their duty-issued handguns and rifles. Some of the officers are trained with sniper rifles. Weber said he has never shot a sniper rifle.

?It?s a position and skill you dedicate someone to,? he said.

Weber said the purpose of a SWAT team is to handle a potentially violent situation. That could be when a suspect has a weapon, has taken hostages or has barricaded himself in somewhere.

Weber said Washington County doesn?t deploy its SWAT team with the same regularity that a big city would.

?We?re not New York or Los Angeles,? he said. ?In large urban areas, their SWAT teams may be called out every few days.?

Weber said the local SWAT team members are called out a few times a year. He said 2011 has already been a very busy year and it?s not even half over. The SWAT team has been called to assist in neighboring counties such as Louisa and Jefferson, and to Keokuk County in April when Keokuk County Deputy Eric Stein was killed.

?In all of those cases, we were dealing with someone who was either armed or who had violent tendencies,? said Weber.

Weber said the SWAT team is deployed when the suspect has a history of weapons? violations or if he may be mentally unstable because of drug use. He said a team of people is deployed because there is strength in numbers. The SWAT team prevents a dangerous situation from spiraling out of control.