Lodi SWAT deployed 14 times in 2020
The Lodi Police Department’s Special Weapons and Tactics unit was deployed 14 times in 2020, conducting six forced entries, making six arrests and recovering two firearms.
There were fewer deployments in 2019, Lt. Kevin Kent said, when the unit issued nine search warrants, and conducted four forced entries on four barricaded subjects. In addition, six arrests were made and five firearms were recovered that year.
Kent presented an annual update of the department’s SWAT and Unmanned Aircraft System team to the Lodi City Council during a Tuesday morning shirtsleeve meeting.
Created in 1996, the department’s SWAT unit originally had eight members, Kent said.
As of 2020, the team consisted of 14. The department is currently recruiting additional officers for the unit, Kent said. “We have a long tradition of striving towards excellence and trying to be not only one of the best teams in the area, but all of
California,” Kent said. “We’ve won several awards throughout the years, and our SWAT is not just known here but across California as one of the better teams.”
Kent noted there were no “noknock” warrants executed last year, compared to one performed in 2019. There have also been no injuries to officers, suspects or citizens in the last couple of years during a SWAT incident.
That is a stark contrast to 2017, when the SWAT unit was deployed another 14 times, serving 13 search warrants and conducting two “no-knock” warrants.
That year, the SWAT team encountered one barricaded suspect, performed nine forced entries, arrested 14 people and recovered 11 firearms. Two
officers were injured, but no suspects or civilians were harmed.
The unit was not deployed in 2018, Kent said.
There are several requirements and qualifications to become a member of the SWAT unit, including being able to perform two pull-ups with a 25pound backpack, as well as run 40 yards in eight seconds wearing a vest and helmet while carrying a shotgun, from a prone position.
Officers must also complete an 880-yard obstacle course that includes navigating cones and dragging a prone victim, all in four minutes.
In addition, officers must meet annual tactical handgun and rifle qualifications, as well as pass monthly snipe and handgun qualifications as patrol officers.
The SWAT unit trains 13 full days a year, with 11 half days.
Kent said the unit is not just a team that serves warrants, and the amount of training it must complete shows that its members are trained for anything.
“We prepare for anything that may be thrown at us, that we can provide better protection and service to the entire city no matter what it is that goes on,” he said. “Granted, we don’t get some of the types of things that happen in other cities, but if something were to happen here, we are preparing for them and we will be prepared.”
Kent also highlighted the department’s Unmanned Aircraft System, or drone unit, Tuesday morning.
Created in 2018, the unit consists of 12 team members using two drones to conduct activities such as perimeter and block searches; missing persons searches; search and rescue; fire surveillance; and crowd control, among others.
In 2020, the department used its two drones in 11 operations, including the Sacramento Street fire in July that caused extensive damage to a vacant building.
Kent said using the drones saved 13.5 hours of work for officers who would have had to otherwise climb rooftops or perform extensive searches outside of normal work schedules.
“We feel pretty well informed and very proud of you guys,” Vice Mayor Mark Chandler said. “We know how hard you work, how hard you train and your service to the community. I tell people you are heroes everyday.”