Police scuba team trains to do ‘whatever the community needs’
NORWALK — Every month, the Norwalk Police Department’s scuba team trains for different emergency scenarios, which, according to Sgt. Justin Bisceglie, “is super important because it keeps (the team) sharp.”
Having a scuba team is crucial in Norwalk, Bisceglie said.
“Being a seaside community, it’s important to have the capability to get divers in the water quickly and capable of performing search and rescue, evidence recovery,” he said.
Also a marine unit commander, Bisceglie said the seven members of the Emergency Services Unit scuba team recently trained search patterns and heavy item recovery.
“So, we basically lifted our 40to 50-pound item from the sea floor, brought it to the surface and then ultimately onto the boat,” he said. “And we did a search pattern to locate that as well.”
Some of the members of the scuba team were scuba trained and certified recreationally before joining the force or the aquatic team, Bisceglie said. But the department also trains qualified individuals who want to join without experience.
“Some of the divers were certified and have previous recreational diving experience,” Bisceglie said. “And then some of them did not until they joined the police department and we trained them in diving.”
Each member of the scuba team has several certifications: open water diver, public safety diver, dry suit, full face mask, and rescue diver, he said. Some members also have advanced open water diver and advanced rescue diver certifications.
Bisceglie said he has even further training.
“I have all of the above plus master diver and enriched air nitrox diver (certifications),” he said.
Beyond these certifications, Bisceglie said officers interested in joining the ESU scuba team must go through an interview process and an agility test.
Sgt. Garrett Kruger brought his prior experience to the scuba team when he joined.
“I was certified prior to being a police officer,” Kruger said. “(I was) just always about being around the water, doing all our fishing and stuff like that (with family). I always liked swimming and diving and stuff.”
The monthly training for the scuba crew not only prepares them for realworld emergencies, he said, it also builds a team dynamic.
“When you train with people each month, you know what they’re thinking and what they’re going to do,” Kruger said.
The last call the scuba team reported to was a 1.5-square-mile sea floor search in August 2021, after a boating accident.
“There were believed to be two or three people that were in the water that were not accounted for,” Bisceglie said. “Ultimately, those people were found to be on shore (in the next day or so), but we exhausted the search pretty well and determined there was nobody in the water.”
Although the last scuba call was nearly two years ago, Bisceglie and Kruger agreed the month-to-month training is essential. Constant training is necessary to make sure the team will be prepared for any emergency, both said.
Diver emergencies are very big emergencies, “because there’s very few people to come and recover you,” Kruger said. “So, the training, knowledge of gear, proficiency in where your gear goes, and then having all other divers check it out before you go underwater … it’s huge.”
More than just responding to calls, Kruger said serving his community is rewarding.
“The best thing is that we’re able to do whatever the community needs, we’re able to respond,” he said. “That’s probably the coolest part about it.”