Police Magazine

Robert O'Brien

SWAT Sergeant (Ret.)

A member of the TREXPO Advisory Board, Sgt. Robert "Bob" O'Brien Cleveland SWAT Ret. is the founder of the R.J. O'Brien Group Ltd., a law enforcement training and consulting service that advises and trains a number of local, state, and federal SWAT teams. O'Brien co-founded Cleveland's full-time SWAT team, and he served with that unit for 25 years. He is a former consultant to the National Tactical Officers Association and a former vice president of the Ohio Tactical Officers Association.

Inside the Badge •by Robert O'Brien•October 1, 2007

Revolving Door Syndrome

Most chiefs serve at the whim of politicians, who also tend to come and go through the same "revolving door." Consistency in these agencies is unknown, as policy and personnel changes happen faster than the department can digest them.

Inside the Badge •by Robert O'Brien•September 19, 2007

Management's Revolving Door and Its Ripple Effects

In my 31-year active career, I worked for no fewer than 14 chiefs of police and so many acting chiefs that I lost count. Do the math, and that works out to less than two years per chief. The shortest chief “tenure” was just nine days (he was found to have organized crime ties). My department even resorted to “fill in the blank” when it came to the chief’s name on reports.

Inside the Badge •by Robert O'Brien•September 19, 2007

A New Season Begins – Are You Ready to Win?

How can SWAT teams get ready to win every "game" they play throughout the entire year? For the answer, I suggest we look at how successful NFL teams stay that way. It's no surprise that many NFL teams openly pattern their offenses and defenses after Super Bowl winners.

Inside the Badge •by Robert O'Brien•September 5, 2007

SWAT and Mobile Field Forces—A Perfect Pairing

Perhaps because there haven't been any recent major riots, Mobile Field Forces have "lost their training flavor," in favor of flavors with more "taste." This is a big mistake—because police near-riots occur somewhere in the U.S. on a regular basis.

Inside the Badge •by Robert O'Brien•August 29, 2007

A Tactical Team Divided from Its Patrol Counterparts Cannot Stand

Hidden within the larger story of the Mogadishu raid, there is a lesson for all tactical officers. “Blackhawk Down” involved Task Force Ranger, which was made of different branches of the U.S. military and every man in that team joined together regardless of unit or service branch to fight in a desperate life and death battle. If they hadn’t, none of them would have survived.

Inside the Badge •by Robert O'Brien•August 24, 2007

SWAT: A Square Peg in a Round Hole?

The debate over SWAT is also evident within individual agencies, where shifts in administrators often change how, when, and where SWAT is used. Some agencies use full-time SWAT teams for a wide variety of risk-involved assignments, as primary or backup responders. On the opposite end of the spectrum, other agencies are reluctant to use SWAT for anything except the highest risk assignments. Predictably, these SWAT teams are rarely called out and such agencies often target SWAT for budge

Inside the Badge •by Robert O'Brien•August 15, 2007

The Team is the Thing

Unlike today’s established teams, early SWAT teams had to develop their own basic training camps. I was privileged to help form the current Cleveland Police SWAT Unit—after a decade of struggling through four failed units/concepts that were deleted from the organizational structure. New teams have challenges and growing pains that established teams don’t.

Inside the Badge •by Robert O'Brien•August 7, 2007

Our Tools are Not Just Toys

To many outside the tactical world, the need for SWAT teams to have access to new technology and new products is often dismissed as SWAT merely wanting more “toys to play with.” This sentiment is especially prevalent at times when budget-strapped agencies are hard pressed to obtain and maintain the bare essentials for their patrol officers.

Inside the Badge •by Robert O'Brien•July 31, 2007

To Rappel or Not to Rappel: That is the Question

From SWAT's earliest days, Hollywood has shown SWAT teams rappelling from great heights, crashing through windows, doing dive rolls worthy of Olympic gymnasts, coming up with long gun in hand, to save the day—lone and unhurt. At least that's how they did it in the 1970s hit TV show "SWAT."

Inside the Badge •by Robert O'Brien•July 25, 2007

Police Shootouts: How Soon We Forget

Every day, police throughout America respond to dangerous situations that often turn into armed, deadly confrontations. When circumstances and time allow, police hold things down until SWAT arrives and takes over. At least that's the plan, but we all know about plans.

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