By Dariush Shafa
Messenger-Inquirer
OWENSBORO, Ky. — Several Daviess County Detention Center deputies blinked their way through two types of tear gas, coughed through a round of pepper-spray gas and endured the pain of nonlethal projectiles as part of special training Monday.
The deputies, each a member of the jail’s Special Response Team, volunteer for the unit. The team is tasked with special response duties, such as rescuing inmates in case of a fire inside the jail or with subduing inmates during large-scale outbreaks of violence.
The goal, SRT Capt. Bill Billings said, is to keep everyone safe. For that, the SRT deputies train in ways to keep risk down. When it comes to subduing or pacifying angry or violent inmates, the goal is to break their will to fight with a minimum of risk to both the inmates and the jail staff.
“By utilizing these tools vs. going hands-on and actually getting physical with the inmates, we’re reducing the risk of injury to the inmates and the officers,” said Sgt. Ken Ehlschide, a trainer and team leader with the detention center’s SRT. “We want to break their will to fight, and we want them to come to us if they want to feel better.”
Ehlschide started the training by first opening grenades of CS gas (tear gas), CN gas (better known as Mace) and OC gas (pepper spray) in three separate sessions inside a shed at the jail.
SRT deputies then went inside, and Ehlschide asked them questions to make sure they weren’t holding their breath.
Deputies endured it as stoically as possible but were clearly grateful to escape the tent and gulp fresh air. A few minutes outside between sessions was enough to clear up eyes and lungs before ducking back into the tent for the next type of gas.
The CS gas was moderate painful, heavily stinging the eyes and creating a burning sensation on skin if you were sweating. The CN gas was worse, causing more painful irritation to eyes and readily causing a burning sensation on non-sweaty skin. The pepper-spray grenade seemed to be the worse, not only burning eyes but also the throat and lungs.
The nonlethal munitions came next. Deputies took turns being hit with shotgun-shell munitions filled with pepper-spray powder, a combination of chemical irritant for the lungs and eyes and a good sting as well. There were also beanbag rounds, which hit hard enough to bruise even through two or three layers of protective padding.
To round out the training, each deputy was pepper sprayed in the face, after which they had to run an obstacle course and then subdue at gunpoint and handcuff a person playing the role of the bad guy. Each part of the obstacle course and takedown had to be completed before deputies were granted relief from the effects of the pepper spray by decontamination.
As painful and tough as it sounds, it’s good training and experience, Ehlschide said. Exposure to the pain of these chemicals and nonlethal rounds now is meant to prevent panic or disorientation in a real emergency.
“We want them to see that they can still respond and get the job done,” Ehlschide said. “Anything can happen in a circumstance like that. We want our staff to be fully trained.”
Sgt. Thomas Marret, an SRT member, said it’s also important to be trained in the effects of these tools so they can understand how they would effect inmates. “You won’t be prone to abuse them, and you’ll know what reaction to expect from the inmates,” Marret said.
And there’s the bonus of training as a group, Marret said.
“We become closer. We know that the other person will be there for us if we need them,” Marret said. “Training with your fellow deputies (means) you trust them more.”
Copyright 2009 Messenger-Inquirer