Palm Springs Police hosts SWAT equipment demonstration for Costa Rican law enforcement officials
The Palm Springs Police Department demonstrated how local law enforcement uses special weapons and tactics (SWAT) equipment and vehicles to visiting Costa Rican law enforcement officials.
It's important equipment local law enforcement use to de-escalate dangerous situations.
“Things like barricaded suspects, potential hostage rescue situations, those things kind of develop out of nowhere. So we do have to be on call for that," said Kyle Stjerne, Desert Regional S.W.A.T team tactical leader.
The Desert Regional S.W.A.T team is made up of trained personnel from the Palm Springs, Cathedral City and Indio police departments.
“We do respond and help with high-risk search warrants for our investigators, our detectives and task forces operating in our areas of responsibility…the most prevalent thing that we would get called out to would be a single subject barricade. So this is a person who is believed to be armed, but is held up inside of a residence or a structure and refusing to submit to arrest, we typically get called out to that,” Stjern said.
This week, Stjerne and his team are showing a group of Costa Rican law enforcement officials how they use tactical weapons like this pole that helps mitigate the risks of flash bangs and their armored vehicles packed with their gear.
Wednesday's demonstration is a part of the "We Grow Security" program which aims to improve safety within Costa Rican communities and their armored vehicles packed with their gear.
“It's really a great experience to share the different things that you guys in Palm Springs are doing and how in Costa Rica we can implement those things that you are doing here,” said Carla Ortega, program manager for the of the International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Bureau at U.S. embassy in Costa Rica.
Ortega said she’s taking notes on the department’s tactics and operations.
“The police prevention programs here are very strong, and we're looking into different ways to get to communities. And yesterday, we got to hear the whole morning about how you guys reach out to communities and how Chief Mills is very open. And he actually goes to communities to talk to them. And this is something that we can definitely replicate in our country," Ortega said.
The local S.W.A.T team spent time listening and learning too.
Palm Springs police Chief Andy Mills says that collaboration is the key to the “We Grow Security” program.
“When you listen to other people, and you see what they're doing, you evaluate it based on the success, and then look at the academic side to say, does this work? That's when you get better as a profession. And so we want to not just look at what we're doing in the United States because believe it or not, other countries do stuff. Well, also. And here's a perfect opportunity,” Mills said.
