County's SWAT team trains for use of force

With a car fortified in 12,000 pounds of armor, tear gas, AR-15 rifles, flash bangs for distraction and other riot gear, Whitman County has long had a police force capable of handling emergencies—the Whitman County SWAT team.

Formed in 2002, they are specially trained for the emergencies like the 2007 shootings in Moscow or the early 2000 spring WSU riot.

The team includes officers from the WSU Police Department, the Pullman Police Department and the Whitman County Sheriff’s office.

Fourteen officers train once a month, usually picking remote or abandoned locations, and rehearse over and over the maneuvers they would use in case of a mass emergency.

The SWAT team was called out twice in 2008 and twice in 2007. So far this year, they have not been activated.

This SWAT team was called out during the Moscow shootings in 2007, when a sniper killed three people and himself. The county SWAT team was one of three in the Northwest dispatched to handle the emergency.

They drove up in their armored car, which has a turret from which someone can shoot.

“We drove up to the church and yelled, ‘You need to come out.’ Of course by then, he’d (the sniper) already killed himself,” said Sheriff’s Sgt. Chris Chapman.

Their training is geared to take on riots, shootings, and even drug stings.

“These are all high charge situations often times involving weapons. We’ve been able to get in there and take care of the situation without anyone getting hurt,” Chapman said.

In one situation in 2008 near Winona, a man allegedly shot his wife in the foot. When Chapman responded to the call with another officer and shouted a greeting as they approached the home, the man shot off one round into the darkness.

The SWAT team was called in and eventually chased the suspect up into rock cliffs above the home, where they pulled him out.

“It’s just an organized bunch of cops with a common goal,” Chapman said.

The most recent edition of the SWAT team was formed in 2002 when the then- new sheriff Brett Myers lobbied for one.

The Palouse has had SWAT teams in the past, but this is the most recent one, Chapman said.

The strength of having a SWAT team, he said, is having a multi-force team that is well-versed in specific maneuvers and adjusted to working together.

“Most situations are similar so we just practice those skills to the point of being ad nauseam,” said Chapman.

They practice eight to 10 hours once a month and take a week of SWAT training once a year.

Each SWAT team member wears a ballistic helmet and ballistic vest (able to withstand the force of a high-powered rifle) and carries an AR 15. Some carry tear gas, a sidearm and special flashlights.

“We’re the last resort,” Chapman said, adding they have so far had no casualties on either side during a call.