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HomeMy WebLinkAboutAgenda Report - January 18, 1995 (61)4 V CF CITY Off' LODI COUNCIL COMMUNICATION AGENDA TITLE: Funding of SWAT Equipment For Two Team Members MEETING DATE: January 18, 1995 PREPARED BY: Police Chief RECOMMENDED ACTION: That the City Council authorize expenditures of Asset Seizure funds in the amount of $4,950 to purchase initial start-up equipment for a SWAT Officer. Council should also be advised an additional $4,950 will be spent from the Confiscated Weapons Account. BACKGROUND INFORMATION: Please refer to the attached memorandum for justification. Lieutenant David Main will be available to answer any questions Council may have. FUNDING: $4,950 (Asset Seizure Funds) Larry. Hansen Chief of Police LDH:sm cc: City Attorney APPROVED: THOMAS A. PETERSON City Manager L^, recycled paper CC -1 L O D I P O L I C E D E P A R T M E N T M e m o r a n d u m To: Chief Larry Hansen From: Lieutenant David Main SWAT Commander Date: January 9, 1995 Subject: ADDITIONAL SWAT PERSONNEL PROPOSAL: Add two additional members to the existing nine member SWAT Team. COST: $4950.00 each officer/ initial start-up cost (uniforms, radio, safety equipment, etc.). JUSTIFICATION: The addition of two more members to the SWAT Team would give us more flexibility to adequately staff and field an emergency response team in most situations. Now, because of absence caused by injuries, vacations, schools, etc. the size of the team we can field at any one time can be severely limited. This can adversely affect officer safety as well as the successful resolution of the incident. Recently we have encountered a marked increase in the number of fortified residences when serving narcotic search warrants. This forces us to dedicate additional personnel to carry tools needed to gain entry. Typically when a residence has a fortified door, two officers are dedicated to the door extraction tool and another to the ram. This severely limits the number of people that are available to make entry. In any situation, whether it is a hostage situation, barricaded suspect, or a search warrant, the SWAT Team must man the inner perimeter positions. Again this limits the size of the entry team we can field. These positions must be manned by a well equipped and specially trained SWAT Team member because of the proximity to danger. When comparing the size of our SWAT Team to those of other comparable cities in our area, our SWAT Team is smaller. Those in Manteca and Tracy, have eleven and fourteen members respectively. January 9, 1995 Page 2 Any SWAT operation has a tendency to use up personnel rapidly. As you can see, establishing inner perimeter positions, carrying necessary tools, manning entry teams and sniper teams takes manpower. By adding two members to the team we will be better equipped to meet these demands and successfully resolve these critical incidents with a minimum of danger to the officers involved and liability to the City of Lodi.