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Photos by Edward Freundl
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Washtenaw County sheriff's deputies Brian Rex (left), Craig Harvey and Patrick Bell, members of the Special Weapons and Tactics Team, receive instructions from team leader Sgt. Jim Anuskiewicz before training for a room-to-room search at Manchester High School.
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They are only called upon when they are needed, but they train as if they are needed right now.
Just like a large, metropolitan police force, the Washtenaw County Sheriff's Department maintains its own Special Weapons and Tactics team to respond to situations that involve a high level of risk to civilians or police officers.
The elite unit of deputies and command officers includes a couple of faces familiar to Manchester-area residents. Sgt Jim Anuszkiewicz and Deputy Marcus Kirby are part of the team assigned by contract to patrol the village of Manchester and Bridgewater Township.
As a sergeant, Anuszkiewicz is one of the SWAT team commanders, and Kirby joins two other trained snipers in the SWAT unit. The officers go through regular training sessions covering a range of situations.
"We train about once a month for different scenarios, such as building searches, shootings or hostage incidents," Anuszkiewicz said.
"We'll get called out on barricaded gunmen, suicidal subjects, civil disorder, dignitary protection, high-profile court situations, high-profile transports or high-risk search warrants."
Recently, the team received permission to conduct a training session inside Manchester High School. It took place at night with civilians inside the building, which required an extra measure of caution.
As team members donned body armor and inspected their equipment in the band room, Anuskiewicz admonished them to respect the school — or else.
"There are cameras all over the place," he said. "If anyone does anything unprofessional or something they shouldn't, I'll hear about it."
Kirby explained that they would work on tactics during this session and that no ammunition, live or otherwise, would be used.
"When we're training in a school like this and there are other people around, our weapons are cleared — we have no ammo at all," he said.
"In other training, we've used 'simunitions,' which is kind of like a paintball round. You feel it and can see where it hit you, but in the school we can't leave paint marks."
Lt. Mike Trester is the team commander, but for this session Anuszkiewicz would lead the training. The team split up into two squads of six men each to search the school, one on the first floor and another on the second. Using precise military tactics, the deputies worked their way from room to room down the hallway.
With three deputies armed with assault rifles providing cover to the front, rear and side, three others with sidearms drawn took turns searching: one flings open the door and the other two rush in to "sweep" the room, checking for suspects or victims.
Once they declare the room "clear," they methodically move on to the next and repeat the choreography. The entire process was completed in a matter of minutes, and nothing louder than a whisper could be heard.
Each squad was accompanied by two Huron Valley Ambulance "tactical paramedics" who are permanently assigned to the SWAT team. They wear the same body armor as the lawmen, but are unarmed.
The medics crouch in doorways and alcoves just a few steps behind the searchers — far enough to be out of the line of fire, but close enough to render immediate medical assistance if necessary.
"It's better to have them there on scene if we need them, rather than having to call and wait for them to get here if something happens," Anuszkiewicz said.
Deputy Craig Harvey, who is assigned to patrol Lodi and Scio townships, said he is proud to be part of the local unit.
"There are 19 or 20 guys on the team, and we're all Washtenaw County Sheriff's Department," Harvey said. "The State Police have their own team."
Some residents have questioned the need for such a specialized unit in a largely rural county, but Anuskiewicz takes the opposite view.
"We train as if it could happen tomorrow, so it's nice to have this capability if we need it," he said. "Usually it's a situation that's escalated beyond the capabilities of the road patrol officers."
The Washtenaw County SWAT unit was organized under Sheriff Tom Minnick in the 1980s in response to situations that were occurring elsewhere in the nation at the time, said Sheriff Dan Minzey, who served under Minnick. Minzey said the SWAT team is another tool law enforcement can use to respond to extraordinary circumstances, no matter how infrequent.
"While you don't use them every day, they're a very valuable team," Minzey said. "We do get other agencies in the county that call upon us for that expertise."
That's because the Washtenaw County SWAT unit received the best training available, he said.
"We got our original training from the Miami-Dade County (Florida) SWAT team, which is one of the premium schools in the country," Minzey said. "They brought that back here and we started one of the early SWAT schools in the state, right here in Washtenaw County. It's a tough school."
Minzey said there is an obvious military component to the equipment and training, but there is equally important element that the team uses to try to defuse a situation.
"Besides the tactical team, they also have a separate negotiation team," he said. "When they are called out for that kind of situation, they work in conjunction with one another."
Anuskiewicz admits that the need to call on the SWAT team is rare, but the team's ability to respond has many benefits.
"The last time (we were called on) was back in July for a barricaded gunman in York Township. We've been on a six-hour call, then got called out early the very next morning," he said.
"It's also great extra training for deputies for any situations they could possibly encounter when they're out on the road."
Edward Freundl is a reporter for Heritage Newspapers. He can be reached at 428-8173 or efreundl@heritage.com.
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