Learning the lingo
CITY YARDS Not only do macadamia nuts taste good (especially when they are covered in creamy milk chocolate), they also make excellent crack rocks — just don’t try to smoke them.
Undercover narcotics officers often use the nuts during drug buys, catching addicts red-handed. Santa Monica Police Department’s Sgt. Bob Almada, who oversees narcotics, loves using them, even though they may cost more than other nuts.
That was one of the tid bits he shared with my Citizen Police Academy class this week at the City Yards, where police officers and fire fighters train amongst the smell of rotting garbage courtesy of the out-of-date, open-air transfer station, which will without a doubt be the subject of a future editorial.
Almada gave the class a brief presentation on drug dealing in Santa Monica, where marijuana continues to be the drug of choice for most residents, followed by metham-phetamine, cocaine, ecstasy, heroin and prescription drugs.
“Just about anywhere you want to look, you’ll find it,” Almada said.
Prescription drugs are catching on in popularity as kids raid their parents medicine cabinets in search of pain killers from mom or dad’s latest surgery. Kids have been known to trade the drugs with upper class-men for other intoxicants. While most parents are concerned about their liquor cabinets, scolding young Dick and Jane for swiping a bottle of ripple, they don’t give much tough to their medicine cabinets where their young ones “are brushing their teeth every night,” Almada said.
And don’t believe everything you see in the movies. Police do not have sophisticated equipment that can pick up a conversation from hundreds of yards out. They have a hard enough time deciphering what people are saying in a car just a few yards away. That’s because when an undercover officer is wearing a wire, the sound quality isn’t all that great.
Another myth is one seen in plenty of movies, too. It has to do with honesty. No, a cop does not have to disclose their identity if asked. A cop can lie through his or her teeth to get a conviction if they are undercover.
What was funny were some of the slang terms used to describe drugs. Words like “grass,” and “flake” were thrown around and made me laugh. I mean, who calls marijuana grass or cocaine flake? You just don’t hear it any more, not that I would know.
The class was also treated to a presentation by vice and the SWAT team, which is comprised of officers trained in special weapons and tactics. These officers are called upon to serve high-risk warrants, apprehend dangerous suspects and diffuse hostage situations, as well as escort dignitaries, such as presidents, vice presidents and religious leaders. They have snipers, scouts and breachers who all work together to apprehend a suspect or make sure a VIP gets through town safely.
The scouts go out first, looking for anything and everything that can tell them what is going on inside a location, such as a private residence where a suspect has barricaded himself or herself inside. Officer Brent Crafton, a SWAT member and scout, said when he surveys a location he looks at the type of doors that must be breached to see if there is a metal security door that may need to be pulled off with the assistance of an armored car. He also scans the yards for children’s toys, which could mean there are kids inside.
“We have no margin for error when it comes to human life,” Crafton said as he stood in front of a display of guns, shields, bulletproof vests and grenades, all tools of the trade.
The trick is to overwhelm the suspect with force. Basically that means to use gas, stun grenades or other non-lethal measures to get the suspect to surrender instead of fight back. Officers would rather here the click-click of the handcuffs than the boom-boom of shots fired.
Officers can gain the advantage by arriving quietly on scene. By using stun grenades they can draw the suspect’s attention away from SWAT officers. The grenades are very powerful. SWAT officers showed the class just how powerful when they pulled the pin on one and threw it several yards away. The sound it made was incredible.
The team trains regularly, about two days a month, and they participate in competitions with other teams from across the state. I’m proud to say that our SWAT team is one of the best around. They have to go through grueling physical fitness tests as well as shooting tests and oral exams to test not only their endurance, but also their intelligence. So far no female has been able to pass the physical fitness test, but not for a lack of trying. One applicant blew her knew out trying to make the team.
As for vice, I had to skip that part of the class. I had to pick up some … um... macadamia nuts, so I bolted early.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on April 19, 2008. Read the original PDF.