Listen: Cass County Sheriff Jesse Jahner and Sergeant Myron Canales on WDAY Radio’s “The Coffee Club”.
FARGO, N.D. – The Red River Valley SWAT Team often uses explosive breaching because officials say it’s safer for law enforcement and the suspect than using a battering ram.
The process involves using explosives to get into a building where a suspect barricaded themselves behind a door or locked it.
Cass County Sheriff’s Office Sergeant Myron Canales, who was on the Red River Valley SWAT Team for 10 years, said using a ram is more dangerous because the door can hit the suspect and lead to the officer being the first thing they see once it’s broken through.
“Depending on the charge that we use, say it’s a cutting charge and I want to cut the hinge side of the door, the door really just spins right there inside that doorway and just lays down flat,” Canales explained on WDAY Radio’s “The Coffee Club”.
SWAT officials say often while breaching the door with explosives, it surprises the suspect.
“They’re on the ground, their proned out with their hands out in front of them before we even make entry,” Canales said.
