SWAT Teams converge on Kendallville for training

Date Posted: June 24, 2009

Northeast Indiana SWAT swooped down on Kendallville Tuesday, but it was only practice.

Approximately 40 officers braved warm and humid conditions as they trained in scenarios ranging from a standoff at Nelson Estates apartment complex to a school shooting scenario at the old Wayne Center Elementary School to an industrial setting in the city’s East Industrial Park.

Auburn, DeKalb County, LaGrange County, Steuben County and Noble County7 special operation groups make up Northeast Indiana SWAT.

All of the individual units train on their own, but once a month they train together.

“The philosophy of Northeast Indiana SWAT is to save lives,” Steuben County team commander Chris Emerick said.  “We train like it’s a real-life thing going on.”

The only caveat to this is that officers do not use live ammunition and take special care that those playing the “bad guys” in scenarios are not injured.

The cooperation of the different agencies is essential, according to Noble County Special Operations Groug (NCSOG) commander Doug Harp.  NCSOG was formed in 2003, it was apparent from the onset that more bodies would be needed for some operations in Noble County than local responders could provide.

“It didn’t take long to figure out we needed more people.” Harp said. “We can share equipment and share poeple.”

Because Emerick might be going through a hostile door with Harp, it’s critical that different teams practice together as much as possible.  If a SWAT office doesn’t know how the man behind him and man in front of him will respond in a given situation, the danger level for all involved is increased.

“(Training) is invaluable to…see how they’re going to react,” Emerick said.

“This allows us to work as one unit, not as separate teams,” LaGrange Sheriff’s Department SWAT member Tad Oakley said.  “We can put more people together than some of your larger cities.”

“They all have to be able to work together,” Auburn team commander Chris Pongratz said.

Adding more to the challenge is always changing locales, which makes Tuesday’s training all the more critical.

According to Harp, it was the SWAT team’s first training session at an apartment complex like Nelson Estates.

“It’s nothing we’ve had to do before, ” Harp said. “We’ve been wanting to do that quite a while.”

Unlike a house out in the middle of nowhere, police have to be particularly conscious of innocent people in an apartment setting.

“You’ve got apartments directly to the side and across the hall,” Harp said.  “You’ve really got to be aware of those neighboring apartments.”

Aparment complexes also have limited access points, and so the :bad guy” knows what door they have to come through.

“It’s a lot tougher,” Harp said.

Tuesday’s training also gave officers from other counties perphas their frist look at a building they may one day have to respond to in a crisis.  Training on the fly is nothing knew to SWAT operators.

“Every scenario we go into has its own different obstacles,” Emerick said.

But Northeast Indiana SWAT’s goal does not change – a peaceful, safe resolution to whatever situation it is called to.

For her part, Nelson Estates Manager Linda Beck was glad to accommodate the police officers.

“We were more than happy to work with them and support them,” Beck said.  “This is great for anybody who might live in an apartment complex.  If they pick up a technique that may save a life, that’s incredible.”

Source:  Matt Getts – The News Sun