Will Grigg?s Liberty Minute

September 12, 2011

Once reserved only for exceptional situations involving hostage rescues, armed robberies, and barricaded gunmen, SWAT teams are now increasingly used for routine police calls.

It often seems as if police agencies actively seek for excuses to deploy SWAT teams. That impression is fortified by a recent essay in Tactical Response magazine, a specialized publication for SWAT and tactical team operators.

?SWAT teams, even the better ones, are going to make operations errors,? observes author Ed Sanow, a SWAT veteran himself. What this means, Sanow insists, is that rather than being used more judiciously, SWAT teams should be employed whenever possible ? which means, in effect, using the public as training tools.

?Stay active. Yes, I mean do warrant service and drug raids even if you have to poach the work,? writes Sanow. ?First, your team needs the training time under true callout conditions?. You need to train to fight.?

A SWAT team that needs to ?poach? work is one that has no reason to exist. SWAT operators anxious to ?fight? aren?t peace officers; they?re armed gangsters who need to be locked away, not unleashed on the public.

Let us take back the liberty wherewith Christ has made us free.