The scenario:
In the commission of a bank robbery, a bank robber has shot and killed two guards. He is now at his residence with his girlfriend. He is known to have gang affiliations and to carry firearms as well as there are registered firearms in his girlfriends name. Intel states there are no children in the house, no animals. There are no schools located nearby, nor are buses dropping off children in the vicinity. The neighboring house is known to house friends of the suspect. Other neighbors have been evacuated. The Sheriff Department has a steagald warrant in hand to apprehend the suspect and has called for mutual aid SWAT consisting of 4 entities; Calaveras, Amador, Tuolumne and Sierra Conservation Center, along with trained hostage negotiators from Calaveras County Sheriff Dept and Sierra Conservation Center. Tactical dispatchers were also employed from Tuolumne and Calaveras.
Coordination between all agencies was the crux of this training. Utilizing each others strengths and shoring up any weaknesses. Calaveras and the Conservation Center hostage negotiators were on hand so some of the training surrounded the proper use of negotiators, when and where to employ their expertise and how to prepare for their entrance onto a scene.
Recon was important at the beginning of the exercise to scope out the location, terrain, possible entrances and egresses, etc. Soon teams were in place and the exercise began in full force with rounds shot, threats from the 'suspect' regarding his hostage - aka his girlfriend. So what began as an apprehension became a hostage negotiation.
As Law Enforcement begins to deal with larger scale crimes, advanced weaponry and varying degrees of mental stability, their skills and tactics must change too. Training is essential to not only the protection of the officer, but for the safety of the public at large.
The whole exercise is called an affiliation simulation, whereby weapons shoot paint from what appears to be real bullets and casings. There were no live rounds allowed inside the training area.
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