SWAT TEAMS TEST METTLE AS 9 SQUADS FACE OFF.

Byline: Jesse Hiestand Daily News Staff Writer

In a drill designed to show the capability of Simi Valley police, SWAT team members stormed a van Monday and snatched a hostage from two gunmen, who then were killed in a fusillade of bullets.

When the smoke of a flash-bang grenade cleared, the flak-jacketed officers tossed aside the hostage - a stuffed dummy - and rushed to examine the tattered paper targets that had been the bad guys.

``Outstanding accuracy,'' announced Ventura police Sgt. Bob Velez, an organizer of his department's fourth-annual SWAT Competition. ``And the fastest time yet.''

In 116 seconds, the six-man team from the Simi Valley Police Department had fired on more than two dozen targets using submachine guns, pistols and a sniper rifle. It was more than a minute faster than the next-best score at that point in the day's competition.

This hostage-rescue scenario, one of nine events, culminated with the thunderous boom of a flash-bang grenade detonating inside the aging Volkswagen van while team members fired on targets in and around the vehicle.

For a souped-up training exercise, it was a little too real for Simi Valley Sgt. Ron Chambers, a SWAT team leader who was kneeling at the front of the van when the grenade went off, shattering a headlight and sending the hood ornament flying like shrapnel.

``It blew the front off the VW,'' Chambers told his teammates after the event. ``It kind of freaked me out. It was scary - glass was flying all over the place.''

SWAT is an acronym for special weapons and tactics. Weapons range from folding knives and handguns to .308-caliber sniper rifles with long-range scopes. Tactics vary with the situation, which often involve hostages or barricaded suspects.

Many of these scenarios were played out during the SWAT Competition, which was staged at locations in Ventura and Oxnard, and at the Camarillo Airport where the Ventura County Sheriff's Department has a shooting range.

In Camarillo, after handling the hostage scenario, the Simi Valley team's sniper and spotter had to bring their weapons to bear on man-size targets at 100 yards. Then, each SWAT officer had to run an obstacle course with a 12-gauge shotgun, firing on metal targets.

SWAT teams from nine Southland agencies took part in the competition - the Ventura County Sheriff's Department, and police departments from Simi Valley, Oxnard, Santa Barbara, Santa Monica, Anaheim, Pasadena, El Segundo and Barstow.

The team to beat was from Santa Monica, which has won this event twice, including last year.

While the competition was fierce, the event also allowed these specially trained officers to meet one another, and share training and tactical information.

``You get to run through different scenarios without having time to prepare. It's kind of like a real call-out,'' said Ventura sheriff's Deputy Eddie Reyes, a six-year SWAT team member. ``And you get to see how other teams attack a problem. It's a chance to learn from them and build camaraderie between the teams.''

SWAT teams may look like soldiers, but that's where the similarity ends, Velez said.

In a military mission, some collateral damage is expected, whether it be the death of civilians or fellow soldiers, he said. ``Here,'' on America's streets, ``that is not acceptable.''

``You just don't go in there and say, `This guy made me mad so let's kill him.' You have to use the minimal amount of force. The objective is fire discipline,'' he said.

Still, modern SWAT teams have their origins in the military.

``The evolution of SWAT started in 1969 with the Los Angeles Police Department SWAT team - a bunch of ex-military guys applying police armor and military carbines to an urban environment,'' Velez said.

Nowadays, many SWAT members do not have military backgrounds.

The only police agencies in Ventura County that do not have SWAT teams are the Port Hueneme and Santa Paula police departments.

Two words dominate the SWAT member's vocabulary: training and teamwork.

``Teamwork is everything,'' said Ventura County sheriff's Deputy Joe Preciado. ``We all strive off one another because if one of us goes down, we all have to react.''

Ventura police Sgt. Robert Bryan, an event organizer and SWAT team veteran, says training makes these reactions instinctive: ``Training is designed so you can respond to something quickly rather than think about it.''

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3 Photos

PHOTO (1--color) Jim Brittle, right, goes over a rescue drill with the Simi Valley SWAT team Monday.

(2--3--color) Above, Simi Valley SWAT members carry off a rescued hostage. At left, the team assaults kidnappers in a van as part of a SWAT team competition Monday.

David Sprague/Daily News