Tuesday, April 27, 2010
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
skip to main |
skip to sidebar
This blog page was established so DeKalb County Police Officers including their family and friends may have a place to hold discussions, post news and vent without fear of retribution.
Track Crime in Your Neighborhood
Search This Blog
Our Favorite Links
- Commission Meeting Agendas & Minutes
- Atlanta Unfiltered
- The Champion Newspaper
- CrossRoadsNews
- CommunityRadar
- Dale Russell @ Fox 5 Facebook
- Decatur Metro
- DeKalb F.O.P. Lodge 10
- DeKalb School Watch
- Doraville Blog
- Drifting Through the Grift
- Dunwoody Crier
- Emerald Society
- Fresh Loaf
- GA Law Enforcement Resource
- Heneghan's Dunwoody Blog
- Hometown News
- IBPO Local 623
- inDecatur
- The Law Enforcement Legal Defense Fund
- Live Apartment Fire
- Mourning Band Protocol
- National Law Enforcement Memorial
- Natural Born Conservative
- The Other Dunwoody Blog
- Pension Board
- South DeKalb
- Southern States Police Benevolent Association
- SurfWax: News, Reviews and Articles
- The Usual Suspects
- Unknown Soldiers Blog
28 comments:
I can’t blame them. If you were the Chief of any of those departments would you really want to rely on DKPD or APD for critical resources? I don’t mean that as a slam on the SWAT officers themselves, it’s a leadership and management issue.
2nd rate
I guess Dekalb Police is not up to the standards of DUNWOODY,
What happens when they really need the best SWAT team ?
Why are they going outside of DeKalb.
I can tell you the chief of Dunwoody
HATES DEKALB POLICE DEPARTMENT,
Let them call for HELP.
\
We will still come.
Please swallow the sour grapes. Our Chief does NOT hate DKPD, and continues to work cooperatively with them in solving crimes - the most important thing of all. He's too professional and dedicated to making us safe to allow anything to interfere with that goal. Whoever made that statement, doesn't know him.
We still appreciate you very much DKPD, and I wish you the best.
Dunwoody resident (and NOT an employee of DPD or City)
The five thousand residents in Dunwoody who wanted their own police department finally got what they wanted.
The question , did this solve all of Dunwoody police and crime issues?
Its still the same and will cost more every year.
I am going to take some heat for this opinion, but what the hell, that's what a blog is for.
I think that SWAT teams are way over-utilized for purposes that do not require a tactical military response.
My worst nightmare as a home-owner is to wake up to some-one breaking down my front door, me grabbing my shot-gun and going toe to toe against a SWAT team with a warrant with the wrong address on it. In the last two years I have had DFAC's, furniture deliveries, and the census knocking on my door because Mapquest gave out the wrong directions to a similar street address.
SWAT should only be used for what it was designed for, hostage situations or when perps are holed up with a lot of weapons.
I find the militarization of SO disconcerting and overwhelming at times, and I am ex-military.
In Dunwoody's case I think they are doing the right thing, its cost-effective and I doubt it will get called out every time a crack-house gets busted....
Did they say they were going for a 40 member SWAT team? That seems rather large to me, but I don't want to claim to know anything about SWAT tactics / training.
Is that larger than normal? If so anyone know why - is there some special need for a large team?
** Hope none of them get hurt with minimal training and lack of real experience. The problem with these small teams, is little training and when the rare oppurtunity arises they have the tendency to over react. Good for them keep training together hope it works out.
Nice pooling of resources. But, I'm probably opening a can of worms here but still. Why use the US Army ACU Camo? I'm probably opening a can of worms here, but wouldn't sage and Multicam be better patterns for our geography and environment here in northern Georgia?
I guess there are some folks out there who think they have a valid reason for spitting on Dunwoody, but just remember that Sandy Springs and Johns Creek are in on this team too - can't all be wrong.
As far as a lack of training and experience, you're just plain dead wrong, and you will see that one day.
As far as the question about Dunwoody Police and things still being the same - you apparently don't live in Dunwoody. Why don't you come on over and "attempt" to commit a crime to find out what happens??
You should also know that there are PLENTY of people in Dunwoody who have nothing bad to say about DKPD - nothing except that we didn't have enough coverage - but it wasn't you guys that people had a problem with, I promise you.
Be safe and happy.
To say a Chief hates DKPD is wrong unless you heard it directly. Do the other agencies also "hate" DKPD. As far as min. Training Most of the agencies have Officers from DK, Fulton Co. It is possible that they have trained and qualified Officers. Have you interviewed them?
LoFlyer,
I love you man and enjoy reading your comments. However, in this instance you are way outside your area of knowledge. We are not DFACS, furniture delivery or the census takers. Do you really think we serve a search warrant based on MapQuest? Good lord man, you have no idea what you are talking about.
As for the so called militarization of the police, again you are grossly misinformed. The weapons that police carry and the tactics and weapons that SWAT teams employ are a direct response to the astonishing increase of firepower used by criminals over the years. Are you saying that you would rather have the police outgunned by the criminals? And do you think uniform officers, who are far less trained and far less equipped than SWAT, should serve search warrants on well armed drug dealers and other criminals?
It seems to me that you have no problem putting officer’s lives at greater risk. I suspect that you have not been on the streets of metro Atlanta to see what is really going on and to see the weapons and violence associated with them. You can’t just watch the evening news and think you know what you are talking about.
As for the Dunwoody SWAT team or north Metro SWAT, God bless them and I could care less! I have no ill feelings toward them and I would hope they have none toward DeKalb P.D. I agree with the earlier post. If they need our department we will help them and if not, we have PLENTY TO DO here believe me!
Anon13, thanks for the input, that's why I post and if I am wrong I will be the first to admit it. Yes there are a hell of lot more weapons around, especially AK47's that were dumped by the communist block after the fall of the Soviets. This doesn't include the expanding market of cheap semi-auto pistols that are of surprisingly good quality. There are a lot of folks out there with these weapons that are criminal and should never have been allowed to get them.
My objection is the no-knock entries as seen in the Kathryn Johnson scandal with the APD.
Is it really safer for the citizens to have the door broken down and 10 hard-charging officers assault and clear the premises?
MS. Johnson did nothing wrong but defended her self as allowed by the law. The lady was in fear of her life and acted appropriately.
My try out with the North Metro SWAT is Friday. I'm twoo weeks removed from a four day hospital stay and 20lbs lighter. Soooo wish me luck
Or don't.
I only know the guys on the team from JCPD and they are locked on. They've got experience from Fulton, Cherokee, Alpharetta, and Forsyth CO. I understand the pride that comes from DeKalb and that "no one can police like we can" attitude. It took me a awhile to realize thse folks from other agencies (smaller, lower crime, whatever) can police too. SWAT trains hard regardless of the amount of callouts and SWAT school is gonna be no joke where ever you get certified.
Remember we are all on this side of the blue line.
Keep your head up DKPD and keep on doing more with less. Unfortunately citizens and politicians don't look like they are improving things for you guys at the PD.
they still dont compare to DKPD SWAT I dont care how much you train, their goal is probably TO BE LIKE US.
WOW...You would think that as Police Officers we could be supportive of other agencies trying to better themselves. Instead, all you guys do is bash them and argue about how much better you are.
Why can't you just be happy for them that they are becoming less dependent on DKPD?
I see someone choosing not to post all responses again. Kind of funny how you'll complain about Wiz Miller not answering questions when you've failed to post responses when they didn't suit your agenda. Pot, kettle, black?
I'll have to agree with LoFlyer in part here. I've seen enough examples of police malfeasance wrt SWAT teams and no-knocks that I have a serious problem with the over use of SWAT teams.
Conversely I DO agree that they have a proper and valid function but I think that they need to be very carefully managed along with the no-knock warrants.
The Kathryn Johnston case is a perfect example of how we DO have a problem. Though, ultimately it's NOT that no-knocks are allowed, it's that those officers had such poor supervision of their actions and arrests that they were in effect criminals with badges.
That said, I would offer that even though I strongly disagree with SWAT team uses for many cases that we've seen, they're still a useful tool in the tool box of law enforcement and if DeKalb needed it, I'd offer my own armored vehicle for their use in an absolute emergency.
As to the point that there are guns that certain people should not have, I have to beg to differ. There are people we do not trust who have shown that they are not trustworthy (by their own overt actions) and they should not be free to walk around and commit the crimes that they do.
Please allow me to answer some of the questions on this topic. I worked DKPD Swat 4 years and currently with North Metro Swat. Let me start by saying my heart will always be with dkpd swat. I learned so much there and continue to have a great working relationship with them. The amount of callouts they answer a year is probably the most in Georgia. The concept is simple slow methodical stay behind your bunker and mirror before every room entry. Its the safest way to clear a house and they do it like nobody else. I helped bring that theory to north metro swat . I would say we are a hybrid form of dkpd swat , when it comes to structure clearing. That being said I have to reply to some of the quotes in comments section.
1. "What happens when they really need the best SWAT team ?"
ANSWER: Pretty ignorant quote but ill try and answer the best I can. If the you know what hits the fan I dont think the chiefs will say "get dkpd swat on the phone stat!" Look its a new city and they want there own identity. How would you feel being in dekalb and a hostage situation evolves. Atlanta swat gets called and they come to take over the whole incident. And basically your chief is at the mercy of atlanta swat. Its a pride thing their city their swat team its simple.
2. "Let them call for HELP We will still come"
ANSWER: I hope so , look at columbine and how much help they needed from other agencies. Clearing large structures takes a toll on operators. Having relief on standby is always a good thing.
3.Did they say they were going for a 40 member SWAT team?
ANSWER: Why not. You have officers on leave officers sick , officers quit, officers in out of state training , child care issues etc. You really dont know
how many will respond on a call out, 40 is a good number. You have to figure containment , sniper team, emergency response team , command post team ( which are mostly supervisors ) and entry team.
4.Hope none of them get hurt with minimal training and lack of real experience.
ANSWER: Our number one entry team has as much experience as any team in the metro area. But we do have a lot of swat pups also. Give them some good real life swat experiences and we will be recognized as one of the best trust me. As far as getting hurt and minimal training goes we get two training days a month. One dry day one range day. And our instructors are top notch I can tell you that. Oh and getting hurt lets hope not.
5.Why use the US Army ACU Camo?
ANSWER: just google acu vs multi camo. acu beats mulit cam in almost every type of environment.
6. PatsQB said...
ANSWER: Great pats QB cant wait to meet ya. drink fluids tonight and dry fire. You will truly enjoy being apart of this team . Our team is building great camaraderie every training day.
7.they still dont compare to DKPD SWAT I dont care how much you train, their goal is probably TO BE LIKE US.
ANSWER: True but were training hard and time will tell. The only thing that could hurt us is the lack of call outs I fear.
Let's try again. Maybe this time the blogmaster master won't censor.
Stop whinning about no knock warrants! Kathryn Johnston wasn't killed because of a no knock warrant She was killed because APD lied. APD spent almost 5 minutes trying to get through her door with a battering ram. After the first 30 seconds, the element of surprise was long gone, and it was no longer a no knock warrant. The purpose of a no knock is to protect the cops from those inside. It's meant to get the cops in as fast as possible so the people inside don't have time to grab weapons! A "knock" warrant doesn't require you to stand there all night waiting for someone to answer the door.
Anon 6 - there are roughly 40,000 residents in Dunwoody, not 5,000.
Well gents, let me just say that the North Metro SWAT team has quite a few Fulton County Swat guys with 20+ years of experience and god knows how many call outs. It took me a while to learn after I left your beloved Department, but DKPD does not have a monopoly on policing. Really it does not!!! Here in Sandy Springs everything works. From our equipment to our NCIC and our back up NCIC line. Our cars are in fine shape, the CAD is nothing less than spectacular, oh yeah not to mention raises and bonuses. Thats right you heard correctly yearly BONUSES!!!! $300 to $800.
Montieth,
You are also very misinformed. The Kathryn Johnson tragedy in Atlanta is actually a good example of why SWAT Teams SHOULD be used to serve warrants. If you think a SWAT Team served that warrant you are mistaken. Of course the primary problem with that entire sad story is the lying criminal cops involved. Thankfully some of them are in prison today. Some of their narcotics guys served the warrant and when Mrs. Johnson fired through the door they panicked and fired numerous rounds into the house which resulted in her death. Of course the warrant should never have been obtained but I can tell you with complete confidence that if Atlanta’s SWAT Team had served the warrant instead, the result would have been quite different. They are a veteran group and they would not have panicked at the first sound of gunfire. They would not have fired aimlessly into the house and killed that poor lady. The fact is that SWAT Teams save many lives every year but the uneducated want to paint a very different picture of SWAT Teams.
I spoke to a couple of guys yesterday who are actually on the DeKalb P.D. SWAT Team! Believe me those guys know they are good and yeah maybe they are a little arrogant. But you know what they said? They said they have no problem whatsoever with the new North Metro SWAT Team and hoped maybe they could train with them sometime this summer. Now that sounds a lot more reasonable and professional to me.
What I say is, anyone who can meet the qualifications and criteria to be on ANY swat team is a hero in MY book.
RIP Chief Gates.
Thats it Im tired of all this SWAT nonsense ......HIT team is back! Roll out boys!!
As a Team Leader and founding member of the North Metro SWAT Team I would like to first thank members of the DCPD and APD SWAT teams who went out of their way to help us in the past. I am not too proud to tell all that we stole some tactics we learned and were taught by DCPD, APD and Fulton County. We are not yet the caliber of Dekalb or Atlanta, but we're getting damn closer with each and every training day. I hold the Dekalb and Atlanta teams in high regard and would never bash them. We currently hold an MOU with APD and will be reaching out to DCPD and a few others in the metro area soon.
I suspect that many of the haters out there are not even on a SWAT team just because of the lack of respect and professionalism they show for their brothers in this blog. Humility, respect and integrity are our core values. Having been in this business long enough every team will get into a position where they will need help. I know that DCPD and APD will be there when I call and I hope they know we'll be there when they call.
The one thing you will not see on the North Metro Team is arrogance. Some of you should be ashamed of yourselves for falling into the trap that you have to degrade your brother to make you feel better about yourself, your team or your department. We are supposed to be in this together. Showing pride for your team or department is great but arrogance will kill a team just as fast a bullet.
To DCPD and APD SWAT Teams: BE SAFE my bros!
Post a Comment