Well, for some reason I decided not to write about CPA for the last two weeks.  To make up for it, I’ll be writing about Weeks 5, 6 and 7 tonight …

Week 5 of the West Fargo Citizen’s Police Academy was SWAT week and was again held at the Training Center up north with members of the West Fargo, Fargo and Moorhead CPAs.  The class started with an introduction to SWAT (“Sit, Wait and Talk” … or “Special Weapons and Tactics” depending on whom you ask) and some personal histories of the team members present.  If you want the details and statistics that were disclosed, you should take the Academy yourself (believe me, it’s well worth it — and free, too).

After the introductions we broke into four groups and were sent our separate ways.  My group went first to the shooting range where we were introduced to some of the weapons and technology that members of the SWAT team are issued.  These included night vision monoculars (which work amazingly well, really impressive), infrared cameras and EOTech scopes.  The officers allowed us each to examine and use the equipment, before giving a demonstration of the AR-15 (M4) rifle that makes up part of the “Special Weapons” of SWAT.

We then went into a storage room where we were shown how SWAT officers work in teams to clear a room:  with two officers, they stack up and are under the direction of the rear officer — the “quarterback” — for when to enter.  The first officer will clear the “hard left” corner immediately upon entering a room and scan for threats from left to center; the second officer will clear the “hard right” corner and likewise clear from right to center.  With more officers, the sections of the room are split into smaller “pie pieces” for each officer to cover upon entry.

As a third demonstration we were introduced to some of the standard-issue equipment that SWAT officers both carry and use, depending on the particular situation.  A SWAT officer will typically have between 45 and 60 pounds of gear just on his vest, including possibly ceramic ballistic armor (for rifle rounds).  Gas masks are required gear, for entry after tear gas grenades.  There are three different sniper rifles that Red River Valley SWAT uses, in both .223 and .308.  We were also shown some of the breaching equipment, including tactical shotguns and 40 mm grenade launchers (accurate to 50+ meters).

We then went out to the SWAT team and negotiator’s vehicles, and were shown some of the modifications that RRV SWAT made to create a custom vehicle for much less than it would have cost to buy ready-made … in fact, their negotiator’s vehicle was the retired bookmobile from the Fargo Public Library (it still had butterfly stickers on the ceiling).

Finally, we all assembled as a class again in the firing range where we were shown the effectiveness of a “flash bang” distraction device — a great firecracker.