Blog - SWAT

Those who attend police and tactical conferences, courses, seminars, workshops seem to be cut from the same cloth. No matter what their agency, position, or geographic location, they share a common purpose. They want to not only better themselves, but also improve their agencies, and ultimately the law enforcement profession.

I’ve been going to TREXPO East and TREXPO West for 10 years, and the conferences never disappoint me. They are always timely, relevant, and taught by some of the best, most qualified experts anywhere. This year’s TREXPO West held in Long Beach, Calif., in February ranks at the top of all the TREXPO’s I have attended so far.

I checked the Officer Down Memorial Page (odmp.com) to see if there have been any law enforcement fatalities on April 15th. Sure enough, when I clicked on the Website for April 15^th, there were 59 law enforcement officer line-of-duty deaths listed from 1857 to 2004—32 from gunfire.

The knee-jerk reactions of authorities in adopting Draconian practices for their SWAT units are endangering the units, the officers, and the community.

Recently, I was asked by a SWAT team leader for suggestions on how to “keep his team together.” His concern stems from his team having fallen into a “rut,” with the potential for “falling apart.” Doubly disconcerting is that this was a good team, one of the best in the state.

Why is sleep deprivation an issue for police? Because, just like the military, police have unpredictable, changeable, sporadic work and sleep patterns.

The fact is the vast majority of law enforcement officers are not killed, assaulted, or injured in the line of duty. The overwhelming majority make it through their careers intact and go on to enjoy richly-deserved retirements.

Officer Simmons did what he was trained to do, interjected himself between his downed partner and the threat, and was shot and killed by a bullet to the face. Other LAPD SWAT officers courageously rescued both officers, and also a downed hostage under fire by the suspect.