Learning from the past

In that raid, a team of officers affiliated with the South Florida Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force arrested YunPeng An, 31, at his home. According to the arrest paperwork, the operation went off without a hitch.

An’s attorney did not respond to a request for comment.

Sheriff’s Office policies required a SWAT team in Coral Springs. “Search warrants requiring a forced entry will be served by SWAT personnel,” the agency’s policy manual states. The agency implemented the policy after Detective Todd Fatta, 33, was shot in the chest and died while trying to serve search and arrest warrants in a child pornography case in 2004.

Some police departments avoid using SWAT so regularly. Cops in Sunrise and Lauderhill evaluate the need for SWAT on a case-by-case basis, representatives for those departments said. Davie’s police department reserves the use of SWAT for high-risk warrants, much like the FBI.

These smaller departments may limit the use of the heavily armored tactical teams because their constant deployment is expensive. The presence of heavily armed police also can cast a frightening image of militarized law enforcement in the community, Diaz said.

“It’s an officer’s safety concern versus making citizens happy,” he said.

The FBI’s decision not to employ SWAT conforms with agency policy, two retired agents told the Sun Sentinel. Huber, the shooter, had no history of violence or crime. It’s not clear if the FBI was aware he had a gun.

“From everything I’ve read publicly I don’t think there’s anything here that would have flagged a reason to have a SWAT team,” said Bill Lewis, a 26-year veteran of the FBI and the former assistant director in charge of its Los Angeles field office.

Lewis cites Huber’s lack of criminal background or past violent behavior as the main reason. Huber’s most serious brush with the law were traffic tickets.

An, the man arrested by sheriff ’s detectives that same morning, had no violent or criminal history, either, and yet the Sheriff ’s Office used a SWAT team.

“If I’d been on a squad during a warrant like that there would have been nothing that raised a red flag for me,” Lewis said. Lewis also said that it is often exceedingly difficult to tell if a suspect has a weapon or access to a weapon, one of the reasons that serving warrants is one of the most dangerous jobs police carry out.

“There are so many people out there willing to sell guns. Here in northwest Florida, there’s daily radio show where you buy and sell stuff, and guns are a hot item. People will call up and say, ‘Hey I’ve got an AR-15 I’d like to sell. I’m looking for $1,500.’ People do that all the time.”

Paul Miller, a retired FBI special agent who served in South Florida and elsewhere, said the FBI has its own SWAT team that it uses in certain situations when agents anticipate violence. These teams comprise special agents who have other responsibilities but get called to go out on the SWAT team to respond to high-risk situations, he said.

“Anytime you do a search warrant you need an operations plan that was reviewed and signed off by a supervisor,” Lewis said.