SWAT, hostage negotiators teams up for semi-annual training

The Monterey County Sheriff’s Office SWAT team and hostage negotiators work together all the time and need to be ready for a number of situations.

On Monday, the two teams got together for specialized training in Moss Landing. The drills, with nearly 30 personnel, involved a suspect holding someone hostage on a school bus. Specially trained hostage negotiators talked the man into coming out of the bus and surrendering to SWAT team members waiting outside.

“This is somebody who has taken a hostage, has a weapon, wants to harm a hostage, and a lot of negotiation goes into what they do,” said Cmdr. John Thornburg. “You don’t send one hostage negotiator, there’s a team here. There’s six of them here today working on their different roles they have to fulfill during the different situations that come up.”

What was different about Monday’s exercises was that instead of using a building, the teams used a bus. These unique situations require different tactics.

“Scenarios involving a school bus or anything involving a long tubular type transportation, like a train, a bus, an airplane,” Thornburg said.

The training is two-pronged: Learning to work together and learning their equipment. The county brought out its Bearcat, Humvee and other specialized equipment. They want deputies to get familiar with it now, so that in high stress situations, they can react.

“Any time the SWAT team goes out to serve a warrant or any other things, barricaded suspects, we still negotiate with those folks, so the hostage negotiation team goes out as well,” Thornburg said.

Hostage situations are rare, with perhaps one a year.