NCJ Number
194902
Journal
Law and Order Volume: 50 Issue: 3 Dated: March 2002 Pages: 93-96
Date Published
2002
Length
4 pages
Annotation
This article describes a two-day Bus Takedown Course conducted by the Miami-Dade Police Special Response Team (SRT) and the Florida SWAT Association.
Abstract
SRT is one of the few police tactical teams in the world to have successfully resolved a bus-hijacking incident. The objective in conceiving of this course was to endear a multitude of smaller agencies in Florida and the rest of the United States to the challenges that a tactical unit could face in storming a hijacked bus. Fifteen Federal and regional law enforcement agencies attended training, traveling from distances that spanned from Ohio to the Florida Keys. The first day started with bus incident debriefs. The details of the 1995 hijacking of a special education school bus in Miami by a deranged individual who told police he was armed with a bomb were discussed. The common thread of the debrief was that “there are no scripts to bus hijackings.” Events unfold rapidly, chaotically and often in such a manner that it is almost impossible for a unit to prepare for each and every scenario. Chaos and live local and cable TV coverage are a volatile mixture. The remainder of the first day focused on specific tactics, techniques, and procedures relative to bus takedowns. The second day was dedicated to the practical applications of tubular assault tactics on a hijacked bus. Every bus has a cutoff switch in the rear that can enable the assaulting officers to immobilize the vehicle and make it stop in its tracks. The immobilization of the target permits snipers to get into position. It enables negotiators to attempt to establish a more consistent dialog with whomever they need to talk to. A stopped target provides the assaulting cadre with the opportunity to prepare the necessary diversions and tactical plans. Bus assaults require a stealth approach to provide a surprise, decisive entry that dictates quick dominance of the bus, and dedicated tactics that are the difference between a successful or catastrophic operation. Breaching an entry point to the bus was the most daunting aspect of the course.