Emergency Response Unit (ERU)

Falling under the Bureau of Patrol is the Emergency Response Unit. This unit is composed of 20 volunteer members from throughout the Division of Police. This specially trained and equipped unit provides support to the Division of Police in hostage/barricaded persons, narcotic search warrants, dignitary protection, civil disturbances, and any other hazardous situations. Currently, the unit structure of ERU consists of twenty tactical members, one truck driver, one videographer, and a ten-member hostage negotiation unit. During civil disturbance situations, the ERU forms one of six platoons the Division of Police can mobilize for riot control. During any call-out situation, all personnel directly related to the scene are under the authority and command of the Emergency Response Unit Commander.

Personnel Selection

Any sworn member of the Division of Police is eligible to serve on the Emergency Response Unit. As openings occur in the Unit, Division officers are asked to submit memorandums to the ERU Commander indicating their interest in becoming a member. These officers are scheduled to attend a demanding eight hour tryout session that will evaluate the officer's skills in firearms, physical fitness, and their tactical abilities. The commanders make their selections based on the results of this tryout session and a candidate's personal characteristics that must include the following:

1. Highest standards of self-discipline
2. Strong desire for the pursuit of excellence
3. Intelligence, maturity, confidence, and motivation
4. Tough-minded and the ability to resist stress
5. Ability to concentrate for extended periods of time
6. Reliability and emotional stability
7. Ability to use force with self control
8. Ability to work well with others in a supportive manner

Qualified candidates that meet standards are accepted into a probationary training period that can range from six months to one year. The probationary training period begins with a two week ERU Tactics Course that introduces the student to all aspects of the tactical discipline. Successful graduates will continue on in the probationary process. Candidates must attend all regularly scheduled training sessions where they are continuously being observed to see how well they perform their job tasks and how they relate with other team members. During this training period, the candidate does not assist the team during call-out situations. At the completion of the training period, candidates are either accepted or rejected. If selected, officers are routinely evaluated on their physical fitness, firearms, and tactical abilities.

Training

Emergency Response Unit training is primarily organized and instructed by the ERU itself. When this unit was formed in 1982, very little training existed which would contribute to the formation and operation of a tactical unit. Members of the unit devised training schedules and internally created unique entry formations and tactics which other teams around the country are now using.

Training sessions are held every other week and comprise of practicing the following situations:

• Barricaded suspects
• Barricaded suspects with hostages
• Tactical rappelling
• Physical fitness training
• Door breaching
• Firearms training
• Distraction devices
• Chemical agent training
• Less-Lethal training
• Ladder climbing

Training sessions are designed to be very demanding. This results in officers that are able to think clearly and respond properly while they are stressed and in a state of fatigue during real situations.

Role players are often used during training sessions. These role players are not limited in their response once the unit takes action. Unit officers have reached a point of specialization that they are seldom surprised by the actions taken by the role players. To add realism to these training situations, role players and team members are equipped with simunition weapons that plainly indicate hits or misses. Training is geared toward developing tactics to allow ballistic equipment to take all shots fired by the role players.

All team members are cross-trained with the exception of the team's four snipers, two chemical agent personnel, and two less-lethal deployment officers. These officers receive additional training and are required to qualify with their assigned weapons on a quarterly basis.

Although the tactical end of the Emergency Response Unit is very important, every member has also received training in Hostage Negotiations I and II through either the FBI or IPTM. An integral part of the emergency response is working in conjunction with the Negotiation Unit. Written policy provides that if negotiators are summoned to an incident, ERU must also be called to participate. If a situation goes from negotiations to tactical and back, members of the ERU on the front line would be able to maintain negotiations based on experience and training. This has occurred on several occasions and has ended successfully each time.

Agency Training

The Emergency Response Unit specializes in training not only its unit but outside agencies as well. Each year, the unit conducts two courses of instruction that other agency SWAT officers are welcome to attend.

The Police Sniper Training Course is a two-week sniper school that is held around Labor Day. Snipers from all over the Eastern United States have benefited from their attendance in this course. It is an excellent school that covers all aspects of the sniping discipline.

The ERU Tactics Course is also a two-week course of instruction and is usually held during the spring or early summer months. It is designed to give a student a complete overview of being an ERU officer.

Interested persons wanting to attend either course should notify:
Officer Pike Spraggins
ERU Coordinator for the Division of Police
(859) 258-3668
Please request an information packet.

Current Status

Since the Unit's beginning in April 1982, the Emergency Response Unit has successfully handled a variety of hazardous situations. Barricaded suspects, hostage situations, and serving high-risk narcotics search warrants make up the bulk of the unit's contribution to the community. The unit has been fired upon during several situations. Possibly the best indicator of the success of this unit is that the team has returned gunfire only once during the hundreds of situations it has handled. The fire discipline and situational control by unit members has allowed the majority of incidents to end successfully due to the professionalism of team members. When tactical action has become necessary, unit members have always reacted swiftly and often without any injuries occurring to any of the parties involved.

The Emergency Response Unit reflects the Division of Police's viewpoint that high-risk situations require special handling by well-trained, professional police officers. The members of the Emergency Response Unit are simply dedicated public servants who are making a difference. The team's excellent reputation in the Lexington community is well earned and deserved.