Cameron Knight

cknight@enquirer.com

After three police officers were killed and another three wounded by a gunman Sunday in Baton Rouge, Councilman Chris Smitherman wants city leaders to discuss moving Cincinnati’s SWAT team from an “on-call” system to a full-time operation.

Presently, when the Cincinnati police SWAT team is needed, members are called in from across the city. Some might be on patrol or performing other police duties, while others could be at home.

“Cincinnati has a great SWAT team,” Smitherman said in a tweet Sunday. “However, City Council must have a discussion of SWAT being full-time based on recent events.” Those events include a sniper’s killing of five police officers in Dallas two weeks ago, increased tension between police officers and the African-American community following police shootings of black men, and terrorism in Orlando and across the globe.

Since its inception, the Cincinnati police SWAT team has been made up primarily of officers with regular police duties who have tried out and been selected for the team. If accepted, members do additional training and step into the SWAT role when needed, said Lt. Steve Saunders, public information officer and former SWAT member.

SWAT members are tested physically, emotionally and psychologically and are required to be well-rounded and intelligent.

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After the Baton Rouge attack, Mayor John Cranley acknowledged the increased risk to Cincinnati officers.

“On behalf of the City of Cincinnati, our deepest sympathies go to the families of the fallen Baton Rouge officers. These are heroes who literally went to work every day and risked their own safety to protect others,” Cranley said in an emailed statement. “The fact that the brave men and women of the Cincinnati Police Department, and police officers around the country, now have to face this type of threat is absolutely wrong.”

Cincinnati police union president Dan Hils served on the SWAT team for 22 years before having to step down when elected to his position last December. He said he is in favor of moving at least some of the SWAT team members to full-time status.

“It’s something the police chief could do immediately and then the politicians could get the funding and shore things up with enough people,” Hils said. “A certain number of SWAT-quality and SWAT-equipped officers should ... available 24/7, maybe not a whole team, but a handful of them should be out there.”

Hils said SWAT members have training similar to the military, which would be helpful in an era of anti-police violence and terrorism.

“Once somebody is attacking with an assault rifle for whatever the motivation...we just switched roles,” he said. “We are no longer the peacekeepers, but we are now put in the position of soldiers, of warriors. Not of our own choosing, but of the choosing of the offenders.”

In June, SWAT was called in after reports of a man barricaded inside a residence with a gun. More than 20 team members held their IDs out the windows of their own cars as they rushed through police lines to the scene. Most were called in from home and pulled their SWAT gear from their vehicles as they joined the rest of the team behind an armored vehicle.

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“When there is a crisis, SWAT is called out. They might be at a picnic or they might be on-duty at that time,” Smitherman said. “I think we’ve moved into a new reality where we have to have a discussion about whether Cincinnati should have its current SWAT team being full-time. That’s what they train to do, that’s all they do.”

Smitherman said he’s discussed the idea with Cranley and City Manager Harry Black. Smitherman acknowledges it would increase expenses because the SWAT team members would no longer perform the patrols and other police tasks they do now. New officers would have to be hired to perform those duties, he said.

“We’d need to bring on 43 to 50 more officers, in my estimation,” Smitherman said.

New York City, Los Angeles, Miami-Dade County, Indianapolis, Columbus and several other cities have at least a portion of their SWAT teams working full-time. Smitherman said seeing SWAT team members at the Pride Parade in June was a new experience for him, but that under a full-time model, he would want teams at all major events in the city.

“Whether it’s the Flying Pig, whether it’s the Oktoberfest, whether it’s the Pride Parade, whatever you can name, that those events are there, we’re prepared, and that they’re safe,” Smitherman said.

Saunders said that, on average, the members of the SWAT team are called to situations more than 100 times each year, and that they perform more than just tactical duties. Members also perform negotiations and technical tasks responding to suicidal individuals and people who have barricaded themselves inside buildings. They also execute search warrants and provide protection at large events.

“It’s going to cost money to do it,” Smitherman said. “I just want to begin having that public discussion.”