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Law
enforcement tactical forces rare in area
Lack
of money keeping many local agencies from setting up teams
December
30, 2003
By WALLACE
MCBRIDE
Index-Journal
senior staff writer
There’s
only one reason why more law enforcement agencies in Greenwood
and the Lakelands don’t have SWAT teams
— money.
Special Weapons and Tactics teams are rare in
South Carolina for the same reason. A handful of communities
have the resources to support them, but most towns and
counties rely on the State Law Enforcement Division for crisis
assistance.
This was the case during a recent hostage
situation in Abbeville. SLED agents negotiated for the better
part of a day with a pair of men barricaded inside a home with
a hostage.
The hostage, an Abbeville County deputy, was
killed in the incident, as was a state constable.
Abbeville
County Sheriff Charles Goodwin said it is unlikely that his
department would be able to support a tactical team.
“We
wouldn’t be able to fund one,” Goodwin said. “There’s a
possible need for it, but the funding is not there.”
The
Greenwood County Sheriff’s Department is the only local agency
with tactical team. Comprised of 14 members, SRT, or Special
Response Team, is available for emergencies in any of the
adjoining counties.
“They respond to situations that
require special training,” said Greenwood County Sheriff Sam
Riley. “They assist in high-risk searches, hostage situations,
suicides, hostage negotiations, and drug searches.”
The
five-year-old team trains weekly, Riley said. In fact,
training and the cost of equipment make up the lion’s share of
expenses for SRT. And members are always looking for ways to
broaden its capabilities.
“We have some more equipment
we’re looking for,” Riley said. “Non-lethal equipment, so we
can resolve hostage situations and suicides without having to
use deadly force.”
Meanwhile, tactical teams remain a dream
for many other law enforcement agencies.
“We need to have
one in Saluda County, but County Council would never in a
million years give us the money we need,” said Saluda County
Sheriff Jason Booth.
“I think every sheriff’s office and
police department needs a tactical team. If you have a
situation, sometimes it’s 45 minutes to an hour before SLED
arrives. We need properly trained guys to hold things in place
until then.”
“In the old days, it was unheard of that we’d
respond to an active shooter,” said Greenwood Police Chief
Gerald Brooks. “By the time we got there, the person had fled
the scene. If they had not, they dropped their weapon and put
their hands in the air.”
That is no longer the case, he
said; and today, police officers responding to the scene of a
crime can quickly become targets themselves.
In these
cases, Brooks said it is “unacceptable” to wait 45 minutes or
more for a state tactical team to arrive.
“There’s no time
to wait for a SWAT team when you’ve got shots being fired and
lives being lost,” Brooks said.
Friday in Saluda, an
escaped prison inmate was arrested at gunpoint by a SWAT team
after barricading himself inside a vacant building. Brooks
said police are better prepared to deal with this kind of
situation — which does not involve an active shooter —
than they were in the past.
“In those circumstances we may
still have the luxury of calling on a SWAT team and relying on
their capabilities,” Brooks said. “It’s a blessing for
everybody that those units exist, but we still have to be
prepared. Our first responders need to have the training and
equipment to deal with an active shooter
immediately.”
Wallace McBride covers Greenwood and
general assignments in the Lakelands. He can be reached at
223-1812, or:mailto:%20wmcbride@indexjournal.com
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