In this article, we will explore more tactical equipment used by SWAT officers and their rules of engagement during operations.
Tactical equipment:
Ballistic mandible:
Ballistic mandibles are a face mask-like accessory that can be attached to the front of an Ops-Core Futuristic Assault Shell Technology (F.A.S.T.) helmet that many law enforcement agencies have issued to their SWAT units.
These mandibles cover from the nose to the jaw area, usually bullet-proof up to NIJ Level IIIA just like the helmet. This is an additional gear that can offer a better coverage for officers as the face is usually not protected from incoming rounds.
Tactical headsets:
Tactical headsets are common accessories worn by SWAT officers. You might think that their main function is for communication without the suspects hearing their communication, this is part of the truth. However, believe it or not, these headsets are designed for two major purposes:
- Reducing loud noise that can potentially damage hearing to safe levels, such as gunshots while still letting officers to hear clearly and assess threats.
- Amplify sounds from the environment that might provide crucial information for officers but often inaudible to bare ears, such as footsteps or conversations.
These advantages offered by the headsets are invaluable for officers operating in hostile and dangerous environments. Thus, most departments consider that it is imperative for these officers to have these headsets and thus most departments issue their SWAT officers this important piece of equipment.
Combat goggles:
While combat goggles have no protection against incoming fire, these goggles are an invaluable asset for eye protection. These goggles protect officers against objects that might cause eye damage or impair vision such as flying shrapnel, excess carbon from weapons discharging, especially direct impingement guns such as the Colt M4 that I have mentioned in the previous article.
However, since there are operatives complaining about these goggles fogging up and uncomfortable to use, now there are safety glasses in the form of sports sunglasses, these are more often referred to as tactical sunglasses. When these sunglasses were released, companies even hired celebrities to advertise to operatives into wearing these comfortable yet robust eye protection.
Body-worn cameras (B.W.C.):
Body-worn cameras, often called bodycams are tools that are commonly issued to law enforcement units. These cameras record incidents officers respond to for evaluation of use of force and for community briefing (hence we can see bodycam videos on our TVs.)
Bodycams have different models designed to be worn various ways. From cameras that look like a smartphone that are designed to be worn chest level (The most common example in the US is the AXON Body series, AXON, the former Taser Inc. now provides officers around the world with tasers and bodycams.) to much compact cameras designed to be helmet worn or mounted on a shoulder. (Note that even some of these cameras have to connect to a unit worn on the chest, just like their chest worn B.W.C. variants.)
Rangefinder:
Rangefinders are a must-have tool for sniper teams. These tools are designed to measure the distance, wind speed and direction etc. from a target. This tool is utilized by the spotter in the sniper teams, who reports these data to the sniper, who will then adjust the aim before pulling the trigger to ensure the shot will incapacitate the suspect targeted effectively.
Rules of Engagement (ROE)
Rules of Engagement is a set of rules provided to SWAT officers to follow. These rules are very strict and every officer is trained extensively so that they are able to memorize and follow these rules under pressure. Please note that the ROE varies from department to department, but the ones listed below are some more general cases across departments.
USE OF DEADLY FORCE:
Use of deadly force in law enforcement refers to officers discharging a lethal firearm towards a suspect, in order to stop the suspects from posing an imminent threat towards other officers on scene or innocent bystanders who were unlucky enough to be in the crossfire at the time. Rules of Engagement vary from each department, this of course includes the use of deadly force.
While most departments allow their officers to discharge their weapons under the circumstance that they believe someone’s life is in immediate danger because of the suspects (e.g. an officer seeing a suspect reaching for their pocket and believing that the person is drawing out a firearm.) to use deadly force to stop the suspects as soon as possible to minimize casualties.
Rules in different departments vary, some departments require their officers to shout at least one warning for compliance (E.g.: “Police! Drop the weapon and get down!”), while others prohibit officers shooting at a suspect who is fleeing in a vehicle unless someone is in imminent life danger if the officer does not immediately take action to defend their lives and the officer has no other choice but to do so to defend the life of that person. SWAT teams may have a different set of rules when it comes to the use of deadly force, nevertheless it is similar to the ones given to other units.
USE OF LESS-LETHAL FORCE:
Officers are authorized to utilize less lethal force, such as using pepper sprays or less lethal shotguns to incapacitate a suspect when he or she exhibits aggravated behavior, but isn’t at the stage that causes imminent danger to other people’s lives yet. These scenarios include a suicidal individual sitting down with a knife in hand, who is not ready to cause someone deadly harm yet, but could become a threat. In these cases, officers are authorized to use less lethal weapons to discourage the suspects continuing their actions. The goal of utilize less lethal weapons is to “End a fight before it begins”. Or in other words, prevent the situation escalating into a deadly one that might cause danger to officers and civilians. Since some suspects might become more agitated when less lethal weapons are deployed against them, de-escalation tactics and verbal commands are best used combined with less lethal weapons to prevent a situation from getting out of hand.
VERBAL COMMANDS:
Verbal commands are the most common type of force used by both regular officers and SWAT teams, the reason is simple, this is because most people comply with law enforcement officers. Verbal commands are clear, simple and effective if utilized correctly. These orders can be intimidating to some people if delivered in the form of shouting or yelling, such as ordering someone to drop a weapon.
However, verbal commands are not only delivered in a strict and fierce way, these commands can also be delivered in a gentler, soothing and caring tone. This is especially useful when dealing with some individual who are trying to commit SbC (Suicide by Cop). With the correct tactics and communication with teammates, these commands play a vital role in law enforcing. (Example: Can you please slowly put the knife down for me? I want to help you.)
If officers are lucky enough, the usage of verbal commands alone along with some precautions and situational awareness can avoid the situation escalating into the requirement of using less-lethal or even lethal force. This undeniably saves more lives.
You might ask, “What’s the purpose of saving the lives of a suspect with these commands?” Imagine this, if you are an officer, and you managed to get a high-value suspect (such as a terrorist leader, or someone who is willing to provide your department Intel.) surrendering and you capture him or her alive, you have several benefits, such as intelligence and reduced psychological stress by avoiding the usage of lethal force.
Remember, dead suspects cannot assist officers with anything, there is a reason that suspects are on the fourth priority of the Priority of Life model, not out of it. This is because, if possible, law enforcement officers will try to capture these suspects alive, as every life is valued by most law enforcement agencies, including suspects.
Usage of restraining tools (Handcuffs)
Unlike regular officers, SWAT teams handle extremely violent and volatile situations. It is important to note that suspects can have plenty of tricks in their sleeves, from playing dead to disguising themselves as civilians.
Due to these factors that can endanger civilians and officers on scene, SWAT officers are required to restrain everyone on scene, regardless of civilians or suspects as quickly as possible once the current situation is safe. Suspects who are incapacitated by officers, regardless of lethal force or less-lethal force have to be restrained and searched for any hidden weapons. The weapons confiscated are to be tagged and bagged in evidence bags for trials.
Once again, rules vary in different departments. However, there are exceptions to this rule.
One common scenario that officers do not detain everyone on scene is an active shooter, if officers encounter a civilian, they will ask that civilian to leave the scene as soon as possible to prevent the civilian being harmed by the active threat, though there is a likelihood that suspects who have planned for their actions might exploit this protocol.
BONUS: SHOT PLACEMENT
Shot placement is a model for officers to land their shots of their lethal weapons on suspects when they are causing an imminent danger to someone else’s life. Officers will adapt and target the area of the body based on the scenario and limitations provided by it.
Torso (Center mass):
Our torso contains many major organs that are essential for our lives (Such as our lungs, heart, livers etc.), you might think this area is not to be targeted. However, law enforcement officers are trained to shoot the torso as the first priority when they have to use lethal force.
You might be surprised and ask why law enforcement agencies train officers to do this when they are life-saving organizations instead of prioritizing less lethal areas to hit such as the limbs. Here are several reasons the torso is picked as the first priority.
1. The limbs have a much smaller surface area compared to the torso.
The limbs have a small surface area, and if the suspect is moving, this makes it especially difficult for officers to land shots on suspects.
On top of that, officers are accountable for every shot they fire and where they land on. If that missed shot leads to civilian casualties, the officer accountable could face very severe consequences.
Shots landed on limbs are not less lethal like we think.
Gunshot wounds landed on the limbs can just be deadly as the ones landed on the torso. This is because once an artery is hit, the person will bleed out pretty fast. In a SWAT-involved scenario, especially when there’s multiple suspects, it is not easy for officers to immediately administer first-aid on the incapacitated suspects. Added up with the previous reason, officers target the torso more rather than the limbs.
3. Torso shots may incapacitate a suspect quickly.
Our body is fragile, but it will do everything it can to preserve our lives naturally. This feature is utilized by officers when they are stopping a threat with lethal force.
Our body may shut down temporarily to protect our major organs from taking further damage, especially when we are hit in areas such as the heart, lungs and the liver.
If a suspect’s natural responses shuts him or her down temporarily, the suspect goes unconscious and is incapacitated. This buys enough time for officers to restrain that suspect clear any weapons or dangerous items from him or her. This also prevents the need of the officers needing to cause further damage to the suspect as when the suspect is incapacitated, they do not have the ability to cause harm and do not pose a threat to anyone else.
Though torso shots can be deadly, due to its large surface area compared to other body parts and the possible ability to incapacitate a suspect, law enforcement agencies train officers on landing torso shots when they are using lethal force.
Head:
Getting shot in the head poses a drastically higher chance of fatality compared to any other parts of the human body. Some people might survive headshots, but it is most likely because the firearm fires a low power round (For example: The .22 Long Rifle, it is a rim-fired cartridge that is very small and is considered one of the weakest ammunition that could be acquired by someone despite it is still deadly. This round is commonly used in hunting small game such as rabbits, squirrels etc.) However, the head is sometimes targeted by SWAT officers when the threat needs to be stopped immediately and there is no other areas more viable to land shots on in the head.
The first example is that a suspect takes a hostage, when a suspect holds someone hostage, sometimes the large portion of the body of the suspects is covered by the hostage and it is impossible to target the suspect’s torso or limbs without risking the hostage’s safety. The head is one of the areas of the suspect that is often exposed during such situations. If the hostage’s safety is in immediate risk and there are no other safer ways to deescalate the situation, officers will target the head to immediately incapacitate the suspect and save the hostage.
Another example is that a suspect wears armor. When officers could not punch through the armor to stop the threat and have to stop the threat as soon as possible, the head is one viable shot placement to be considered as most people would be immediately incapacitated if not killed when shot in the head. There are even shooting drills that use this shot placement to the advantage. One famous example is the Mozambique Drill, this drill is especially useful when facing suspects wearing body armor. The drill consists of 2 shots to the torso to disorient the suspect, if that fails, follow it up with a shot to the head to incapacitate the threat. The headshot almost guarantees that the suspect will immediately be unable to pose a threat to others immediately.
Pelvis:
As stated in the last article, in the human anatomy, we have a part called the pelvic girdle that if shot, would cause the femur to fall out of socket and become completely unusable and cause us being unable to walk. This area is also one of the many body parts viable to land shots on when facing a suspect who is causing immense danger to the lives of others. Since mobility is one vital strength in a skirmish, someone who is unable to move away from the line of fire would pose much less of a threat compared to someone who could move normally as the former is unable to quickly get themselves to cover to prevent getting hit.
This shot placement is especially used against suspects who have taken PCP (phencyclidine, also known as Angel Dust.), which is a highly dissociative drug that basically shuts down pain receptors of someone. Being unable to feel pain means a suspect will be able to attack relentlessly without being disrupted by pain when shot by officers, this poses an imminent and immediate danger to officers and civilians as suspects who have taken this drug would not be stopped by typical less lethal munitions such as beanbags or foam projectiles that are designed to stun suspects through pain. Preventing them to be able to walk by shooting them in the pelvis is one effective way to minimize the danger they could impose.
*END OF ARTICLE*
