Menifee PD joins SWAT alliance, purchases armored vehicle

The Menifee Police Department is authorized to purchase an armored rescue vehicle for SWAT deployment.

By Doug Spoon, Editor

The Menifee Police Department received City Council approval Wednesday to join a regional SWAT alliance and purchase an armored rescue vehicle.

During its previous contracts with the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department, the City of Menifee incurred extra costs for incidents in which SWAT deployment was required. One such example was an incident on Aug. 15, 2019, when a Sheriff’s Department SWAT team and multiple armored vehicles were required when a suspect barricaded himself inside a Menifee home for more than eight hours before being taken into custody.

Under the leadership of the new Menifee Police Department, SWAT services have thus far been paid to a SWAT partnership managed by the Hemet and Murrieta Police Departments. Those agencies have deployed jointly on more than 100 activations since 1998, according to a presentation to City Council members on Wednesday.

Since the July 1 launch of Menifee PD, assistance from the Hemet/Murrieta SWAT unit has been requested twice. On July 4, Menifee PD requested SWAT assistance when a suspect was barricaded inside a residence after fatally shooting another man. On July 23, SWAT assistance was again requested to remove a suspect accused of felony domestic violence and rape from a residence after a five-hour standoff. SWAT assistance for that incident cost the City of Menifee about $11,000, according to city documents.

In the Menifee PD news release regarding the July 23 incident, the SWAT team was referred to as the “Southwest Cities SWAT team, which is made up of officers from the Murrieta Police Department, Hemet Police Department, and Menifee Police Department.”

A memorandum of understanding (MOU) between the three agencies was drafted and signed by the three city police chiefs on July 6. The MOU forming the three-agency Southwest Cities SWAT team will become official when all three City Councils approve it. Menifee on Wednesday became the first city to approve the MOU, said Menifee PD Captain Chris Karrer.

“Joining a municipal team allows us local control,” Karrer told council members. “Having our own team allows us to act without draining county resources.”

According to the MOU, each agency will provide for the coverage and compensation of their agency’s personnel assigned to a SWAT deployment. Each police chief will assume the role of incident commander of an incident in his city. The Menifee PD budgeted $25,000 for the purchase of equipment and munitions to equip and train four SWAT members within the current fiscal year.

“We began looking at our current officers and those in background checks for viable candidates,” Karrer said about Menifee PD officers who would serve in a SWAT capacity when needed. He said officers would receive regular training to supplement their current experience in SWAT operations.

In response to a question from council member Greg August, Karrer said a SWAT incident could result in overtime pay for officers, but that “the reason we’re entering into a regional team is to minimize that.” He also responded to a question from council member Lesa Sobek by saying the City of Menifee would remain liable for incidents involving their officers.

The motion to approve the MOU passed unanimously.

In a separate action, the City Council unanimously approved the purchase of a refurbished G3 BearCat armored rescue vehicle to help equip Menifee as part of the regional SWAT team. According to the proposal for the purchase, “ARVs are armored vehicles used for high risk operations, including being a mobile shield in an active shooter situation, providing protection to officers during high-risk warrant services or other high-risk tactical situations, and removing of downed officers or injured citizens in a hazardous or hostile environment.

“The Hemet Police Department and the Murrieta Police Department both have Armored Rescue Vehicles (ARVs),” the proposal continues. “The Menifee Police Department currently does not own an ARV. Due to the large service area, staff believes each city needs to have their own ARV. Menifee has many large parcels where ARVs provide safer response options for all personnel involved in a SWAT callout. In addition, there is no guarantee that when an ARV is needed in Menifee, the other two ARVs would be available due to already being deployed or being out of service.”

The cost of the ARV is $228,378. That will be funded using salary and operational savings from the 2019-20 police department budget. At the July 15 City Council meeting, council members approved a carry-over of $703,873 in unused funds in 2019-20 to the 2020-21 budget because not all officers were hired and equipment purchased prior to the July 1 launch.

"With the MOU creating the Southwest Cities SWAT team, our cost for a SWAT callout will be reduced as we are able to put more officers on the team," City Manager Armando Villa said in an email to Menifee 24/7. "Once we have 10 operators on the team, there will be no more bills from Hemet or Murrieta. It will be a 100 percent cost sharing model.
"We are in the process of selecting four operators who will be assigned to the team. Once those four operators are operational, we will only pay 60 percent of the labor costs for Hemet and Murrieta. It will be reduced by 10 percent per operator assigned to the team until we get to 10."