By TOM FLETCHER, WILL BUNK AND PHIL MYERS
SWAT Teams have been using chemical agents as a less lethal means to force a suspect out from a structure, vehicle, boat, etc. for decades. Throughout this time, munitions and delivery systems have evolved from 37mm Barricade Penetrator munitions to 40mm ferrets, then to “burn boxes,” and now to the modern-day use of Gas Rams/BurnSafes and Launchable Baffled Grenades. Regard- less of the delivery method, does your SWAT team know the “why’s” regarding the use of chemical agents? For instance:
- Why do you use the type of delivery method/ systems your team utilizes?
- Why do you use ferrets verses other methods of delivery?
- Do you know how a particular chemical agent munition works?
- How do you decide on the amount of chemical agent to deploy into a structure?
- What is your decontamination process/procedure?
Generally speaking, law enforcement professionals are well trained, but when asked about the “whys” of what we do, or what we use, our answers lack educational depth. A SWAT officer/deputy may know how to deploy a ferret, but when asked how the ferret functions, what are its limitations, etc. they have very little knowledge on that specific munition. This lack of education is the shared responsibility of the instructor, the student, and SWAT leadership. The instructor should educate students not only on the “how to” of a given discipline, but the “whys”. Students, in turn, are also responsible for asking the whys of what they are being taught. SWAT leadership should ensure both team members and instructors have a thorough working knowledge of the various tools and tactics their team employs.
If we cannot explain why we took a particular course of action, or why we used a certain delivery method, we need to rethink our baseline of understanding of any given discipline.
The importance of knowing the “whys” of chemical agent deployments recently became apparent when two San Diego County Sheriff’s Department Special Enforcement Detail (SDSD SED)1 Deputies were subpoenaed to testify about a SWAT operation involving the deployment of Orthochlorobenzalmalononitrile (CS)2. The incident involved a barricaded suspect actively shooting from a high-rise apartment at responding officers. SDSD deputies deployed chemical agent munitions and the suspect ultimately surrendered and was taken into custody.
Three years later, the deploying SDSD deputies, as well as other involved officers, were subpoenaed to testify on the incident. Part of the pre-trial preparation was educating the Deputy District Attorney on the tactical use of chemical agents. During the trial, the defense challenged the reasonableness of CS deployment in an attempt to il- lustrate excessive force based on the amount of CS chemical agent used.
DURING THE DEPUTIES’ RESPECTIVE TESTIMONY, THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS WERE ASKED AND ANSWERED BY THE DEPUTIES:
- What does “CS” stand for?
- Have you been exposed to this?
- Did you learn how to deploy this?
- What devices did you train on to learn how to deploy?
- In your training, have you ever been exposed to CS without a gas mask?
- How many times have you personally experienced the effects?
- Can you explain what LCT50 is?
- Approximately how many times have you been involved in the deployment of chemical agents?
- Describe the flameless tri-chamber.
- How many grams of chemical agent are in a tri-chamber?
- Is there anything a suspect can do with clothing, or other items, to lessen the effects of CS?
- Are you trained to look for things to demonstrate whether or not something might be catching fire?
The suspect was subsequently convicted and sentenced to 20 years due to, in part, the expert testimony of the SED deputies. The expert testimony given by the two deputies wasn’t accidental, nor was it due to “cramming” the night before they were scheduled to testify. They successfully testified because they spent a considerable amount of time training and educating themselves. The San Diego Sheriff’s Department has been a leader in the tactical use of chemical agents since the late 1970s. The genesis of the current CATO Chemical Agent Instructor Course started with the San Diego Sheriff’s Department and Captain Den- nis Cole (ret.), Sergeant John Pokorny, and Sergeant Craig Beery(ret.) leading the way in the use of chemical agents.
Are your chemical agent instructors prepared for expert testimony on chemical agents? How would they answer the 12 questions posed to the SED Deputies? Can your team commander and team leaders answer these questions? If the answer is no, a good starting point is a Chemical Agent Instructor Course. In CATO’s Chemical Agent Instructor Course, students will leave the course with the confidence to answer questions and articulate courses of action during these events.
One additional point to consider: what is your chief’s, or sheriff’s, and respective command staff’s perspective on the use of chemical agents as part of their SWAT team’s mission capabilities? That is a must have conversation long before the tactical callout occurs. Their opinions will help you as you increase your team’s knowledge, expertise, and develop standards for using chemical agents. Once we have had that conversation with command staff, the following standards might be considered:
HAVE MULTIPLE INSTRUCTORS FOR THE SAME DISCIPLINE
Establish a lead instructor, but have multiple instructors to help ensure smooth transitions when turnovers happen. The lack of succession
planning for personnel departures will almost guarantee your chemical agent program will be in a constant state of starting over.
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
Invest in your instructors! It’s vastly cheaper than paying out on lawsuits or claims, which impact your organization’s professional reputation, and erode of the community’s confidence in its police department.
ESTABLISH STANDARDS
These are based on your chemical agent mission, capabilities, and established case law.
TRAIN TO MAINTAIN THOSE STANDARDS
Your training should include a documented curriculum and testing method for the following:
- Mask—Utilize both live agent training to ensure your gas mask operates properly and inert training to get SWAT Officers use to wearing them for prolonged periods of time.
- Live Agent—SWAT Officers need to be comfort able operating in live CS agent. Simply stated, the more you are in CS, the better your tolerances to CS will be.
- Delivery Systems—Team members should know how to properly deploy, clean, and under stand it’s nomenclature for each delivery system your team possess.
- Munitions—Team members should know each munition used (both its pros and cons).
- Gas Formulas—Regardless of the methodology, each team member should be able to determine how much CS agent to deploy into a structure.
- Decontamination— Each team member should have an understanding of your decontamination protocols.
STAY CURRENT
How current is your agency’s policy, procedures, general orders, etc. on chemical agents?
BE ACCURATE
Are your After-Action Reports/post event documentation accurately reported?
HAVE A LOG BOOK
Establish a log book of your chemical agent experience. The logbook might include:
- Formal chemical agent training—course type, years and hours
- Informal chemical agent training—military, non-POST, etc.
- Teaching—years teaching, course types, hours, where, who, etc.
- Experience (1st hand deployments, both training and operational, assists, and formulating chemical agents plans)
- Post Operation Structure/Subject Decontamination
- The amount of exposures (operationally and training)
- Articles written
- An agency recognized expert
- Other Professional Development
76% OF SWAT TEAMS ARE SPENDING 1-10 HOURS ANNUALLY CONDUCTING LIVE AGENT TRAINING
9% OF SWAT TEAM MEMBERS DO NOT KNOW THEIR TEAM’S GAS PHILOSOPHY
15.3% OF SWAT TEAMS DON’T KNOW IF THEY HAVE A DECONTAMINATION POLICY
15.3% OF SWAT TEAMS DO NOT HAVE A POLICY REGARDING DECONTAMINATION OF STRUCTURES POST-GAS DEPLOYMENT
22% OF SWAT TEAMS COULD HAVE DEPLOYED CHEMICAL AGENTS ON A SWAT CALLOUT, BUT CHIEF/SHERIFF/COMMAND STAFF DECIDED AGAINST USING CHEMICAL AGENTS
Whether you are a SWAT Officer, a newly assigned instructor, a senior instructor, a team leader, or commander, your level of expertise directly correlates to how much self-education you put into a given discipline. How ready are you and your team?
CORPORAL TOM FLETCHER
is currently assigned full-time to the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department SED/ SWAT team. He’s a team chemical agent instructor and breacher. In his 15th year of law enforcement, Fletcher has held various assignments that include patrol, gang enforcement, recruit training officer and in-service training. He’s fortunate to be involved in chemical agent instruction, and blessed to have learned his skills from the men of SED who paved the road before him.
CORPORAL WILL BUNK
is a 12 year veteran with the San Diego County Sheriff's Department. His assignments and experience include jails, patrol, FTO, Gang Suppression Team, departmental instructor, and SWAT. He has been part of the SWAT team for 7 years and currently serves on the SWAT entry team as an operator, ATL, chemical agents liaison and Mobile Field Force grenadier. He has
10 plus years instructor experience and currently teaches as part of CATO’s Chemical Agent Instructor Cadre.
PHIL MYERS
is a retired sergeant from the Costa Mesa Police Department. His assignments and experience include patrol, FTO, detective bureau, departmental instructor, and command staff adju- tant. Phil served on the SWAT entry team as an operator, ATL, and sergeant. He has 25 plus years of instructor experience and current- ly teaches as part of CATO’s Chemical Agent Instructor Cadre. He has a Bachelor of Science in Psychology from Vanguard University.