The Special Weapons Team's priority response is to the Department's needs. However, it is available to requests for assistance by any police department in the County.
It is not the intention of the Department to take over every situation wherein a SWT would be of service. Each police department has a responsibility to prepare itself for these encounters. Our Department recognizes that circumstances, time, size, and capability of police departments may, on occasion, necessitate their need to call upon our Department for assistance.
It is the policy of this Department to assist police departments in time of need, providing the police department has made an effort to resolve the incident.
Unit Commanders shall brief personnel as to our policy and the following operational guidelines:
- Each request must be approved by the Chief of Police or Assistant Chief of Police of the requesting agency;
- A Chief of Police may direct a letter to the Sheriff requesting that the Sheriff's Department provide special weapons team coverage during times of need. This letter allows the Watch Commander of the concerned police department to deal directly with the Sheriff's Station/Unit Watch Commander without gaining the immediate approval of the Chief or Assistant Chief. The letter process is designed to speed the request process and shorten the response of a special weapons team. Upon receiving a request for a SWT from an independent city, the Watch Commander shall dispatch a field supervisor to the scene for the purpose of liaison, evaluation, and communication;
- Police departments shall be advised that requests are categorized as either primary or secondary assistance;
- Primary assistance means the Sheriff's SWT has total responsibility to neutralize the situation. The primary containment zone shall be Department personnel only. The Special Enforcement Bureau Unit Commander or Area Commander or Duty Commander shall respond to the scene and command our personnel. Consultation between the SEB Unit Commander or Area Commander or Duty Commander and Chief of Police or his representative shall occur. If the police department does not concur with the tactic chosen, we shall not assist; and
- Secondary assistance means crowd and traffic control on the perimeter of the incident. The Special Weapons Team shall not be utilized for secondary assistance. Sheriff's personnel for this assignment shall be provided by the concerned Station/Unit or available SEB personnel. These personnel shall be under the supervision of our Department's supervisors who will accept standard traffic and crowd control missions from the police department's Commander.
We do not intermix members of this Department with personnel from other agencies, as command and control is mitigated and has proven hazardous. If the agency is requesting backup assistance, perimeter traffic and pedestrian control, etc., the requesting agency retains full operational control.