FEATURE ARTICLE

March 2005

Cops Protect Florida Harbor From Terrorists

by Harold Kennedy

The go-fast boat came roaring around the bend of the harbor in Tampa, Fla., followed quickly by a high-speed pursuit boat from the city police department’s marine unit. Bullets were flying from both craft.

A policeman fell into the cold water. Within minutes, a U.S. Coast Guard HH-60J Jayhawk helicopter—from the air station in nearby Clearwater—swept onto the scene, and dropped a rescue diver into the water.

Meanwhile, the police boat overtook the go-fast vessel, and heavily armed, black-clad members of the police tactical-response team overwhelmed the go-fast’s crewmembers and took them ashore to be screened for evidence of weapons of mass destruction.

This was all a demonstration, staged for a conference on chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear defense, attended by senior Defense Department and industry officials.

The intent was to show how a local law-enforcement agency can work with U.S. military services and other federal agencies to frustrate a terrorist attack.

Chris Reynolds, a local fire and rescue battalion chief, paramedic and major in the Air Force Reserve, explained the scenario: “Special Forces in Iraq have confiscated a laptop computer from a high-value target. It contains intelligence that the Port of Tampa has been targeted for a WMD attack.”

A Panama-flagged freighter, suspected of smuggling WMD, has been tracked from “a country of interest,” and is entering Tampa Bay, he said.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation’s joint terrorism task force is mobilized, the president and the homeland security secretary are briefed, and the secretary directs the Coast Guard to assist civilian authorities.

The exercise highlights the fact that Tampa—the seventh largest port in the United States—is a particularly attractive target for a terrorist attack, Reynolds noted.

The city also is home to two major military commands likely to be on any terrorist hit list. The Special Operations Command is playing a leading role in the global war on terror, and the U.S. Central Command is directing the current conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Both are based at MacDill Air Force Base.

MacDill is located at the end of a peninsula in the bay, where access can be controlled tightly. In recent years, city and base officials have signed a series of memoranda of understanding calling for increased cooperation, especially in the area of security. The police department is permitted to use a MacDill small-arms range for training, and the department helps the base guard its perimeter. “We serve as a civilian buffer between MacDill and the rest of the city,” said Officer Bryan Felts, a member of the police tactical-response team.

In Tampa, the task of coping with terrorism is assigned to special-operations teams from the police and fire rescue departments. Each team focuses on specific, hazardous tasks that require skills not ordinarily held by most police officers or firemen. Within the police department, members are not assigned fulltime to a team, but hold other positions throughout their departments. They convene to train and to respond to assignments.

The tactical-response team is trained in special weapons and tactics (SWAT). It is equipped to handle a wide range of dangerous events, including hostage situations, riots and barricades by armed suspects. “We basically respond to anything in the city—anything high risk,” Felts said.

Team members are equipped with such weapons as the Colt M4 5.56 mm carbine, Heckler & Koch MSG90A1 sniper rifle and SigSauer P226 9 mm pistol. The team maintains a light armored vehicle that is configured specifically for rescue missions.

Tactical response team members are seasoned law-enforcement professionals, Felts said.

The Tampa police have a marine unit that includes five boats and two personal watercraft. The “flagship” of this fleet is a 32-foot Donzi ZF speedboat with twin outboard engines providing 500 horsepower. “It can go 74 miles an hour—faster than you want to go,” said Master Patrolman Brad Novack.

The Donzi is equipped with a gyro-stabilized camera system with three broadcast-quality sensors, day, night and infrared. The system is capable of real-time, downlink broadcast to all police district systems, the mobile command post and a mobile response vehicle.

The remainder of the fleet consists of a 26-foot Boston Whaler, a 28-foot Goldline, a 19-foot rigid hull inflatable and a 21-foot Carolina Skiff.

Divers are equipped with full-face masks, wireless communications and dry-suits. For extremely contaminated water dives, the team has customized helmets and a hard-wire communications system.

The divers’ primary responsibility is to conduct search, rescue and recovery operations in Tampa’s waterways, which include not only the bay and the harbor, but also the Hillsborough River, which bisects the city. Since 9/11, the divers also have been called upon to search and secure the port’s docks whenever a Navy warship visits. In addition, they inspect civilian ships below the waterline, which is a common place to hide smuggled contraband.

A hazardous devices and materials team responds to situations involving homemade bombs, discarded or improperly stored commercial explosives, military ordnances and chemical, biological and radiological hazards.

The fire-rescue department’s tactical medical response team works hand-in-glove with the police tactical response unit. The medics’ mission is to provide advanced life-support and rescue capabilities for those victims who are difficult to reach or for whom treatment would be delayed because of austere conditions.

These situations include hostage takings, armed barricades, terrorist attacks, bomb explosions, dignitary protection and police operations involving gang, drug and weapon interdictions. Team members conduct airborne, in-water, rough terrain and high-rise, rooftop rescues.

Up to this point, Tampa’s special-operations teams haven’t had any run-ins with terrorists. “We encounter a lot of drug traffic,” said Novack. “And occasionally, a sailor from a foreign-flag freighter jumps ship. That’s about it so far.”

If the teams did encounter terrorists, they would like to avoid a shootout such as the one depicted in the demonstration, Novack said. Tampa’s waterfront is crowded with offices, restaurants, shops and homes, and the risk of civilian casualties could be high, he pointed out.

“We’d probably back off,” he said. “We’d keep them in sight, and look for a way to bring them into custody without endangering innocent bystanders.”

Back To Top