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Episode 17 - Behind the Walls
3 Plays1 month ago
Policing doesn’t stop at the jail doors—it just changes. On Breaking & Adventuring, we talk with Deputy Justin Santiago, a member of the Jail Special Operations Group, about what life is really like inside the Adams County Detention Facility. He shares how JSOG responds to volatile situations, uses de-escalation as a critical tool, and trains for the moments when things turn violent.
Do you have questions? We want to answer them. Send us an email to CommunityConnections@AdamsSheriffCO.gov
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Transcript
Introduction to Breaking and Adventuring
00:00:26
Speaker
Welcome to another episode of Breaking and Adventuring, where we highlight the life inside and outside the Adams County Sheriff's Office and law enforcement community and beyond, sharing background stories and experiences of the men and women of the sheri for Sheriff's Office and the public safety community.
00:00:41
Speaker
So
Meet Deputy Santiago
00:00:42
Speaker
I'm your host, Commander Sherman, and I'm here with Deputy Santiago, and we're going to discuss his career and what it's like serving on some of our specialized units and one in particular. So we'll just start the beginning.
00:00:53
Speaker
How did you get started in law enforcement get interested in in law enforcement? Well, first off, I got interested in law enforcement because it's kind of a cliche answer, but i i actually really do like helping people a lot. It's something I've always done since I was a kid, just making sure if I if i see somebody who's in distress or in trouble or anything, like I can do my best to help them out.
00:01:15
Speaker
um I didn't really give it much thought until I got out of college. I got my bachelor's degree in criminal justice. So I wanted to do something in that field. yeah But um it wasn't until I was just searching around. I found
Life Inside the Jail
00:01:28
Speaker
the sheriff's office. I was like, oh, OK, like there's a lot of opportunities here I can I could use to grow.
00:01:33
Speaker
So I applied. Now, this may be a surprise to a lot of people. Or some of you might might not like me for this, but I almost became a firefighter. Get out. Leave now immediately. Just kidding. Yeah. ah Because it it took a little bit to hear back from Adams County. But then once I heard, I was like, oh, I'm going to continue this.
00:01:55
Speaker
All right. So you made a wise choice. I did. Just kidding, firefighter friends. We love you guys, too. It's all in the family. um Well, and so what's your current assignment? ah Right now I'm at the jail.
00:02:05
Speaker
um I'm not a senior deputy yet, but I will once I reach my five years in April. I'm currently an FTO and then I'm also on the JSOG team, which is the jail special operations group.
00:02:17
Speaker
So it gives me these fancy little greens. Yeah, look at you. All right. Look at Sharp. And for those of just listening, you're missing out. Come join us on YouTube. um Well, working detention center, it's definitely a world of its own. It's like its own like little city.
00:02:29
Speaker
What was your first impression stepping inside those walls for the first time? I'm not
The Jail Culture vs. Other Facilities
00:02:34
Speaker
going lie. It was a little bit intimidating ah because never really dealt with that kind of culture before. I have when I was younger, but then I kind of just forgot about it.
00:02:46
Speaker
So that was like taking a little bit step back into my childhood. Like, oh, like, okay. ah these are These are some people I haven't seen or haven't talked to in a while. So I'm like, I got get back in that mindset a little bit.
00:02:57
Speaker
Yeah. No, similar. I mean, it was, I grew up in a lower middle-class area and definitely, you know, but I was never exposed to, you know, terminology and gang culture and things like that. so just, yeah, stepping in, it was definitely, I had to get versed quickly. Um, just, just so I knew what was going on when I stepped into a pot trying to run the different housing. It's just the dynamics. yeah's it's It's a learning curve for everybody.
Joining and Training with JSOG
00:03:24
Speaker
Even if you grew up in similar, it's, I mean, being in it as, and that's funny thing too, is a County jail is definitely a different culture than like a prison setting.
00:03:35
Speaker
And then even from jurisdiction, ju jurisdiction, jurisdiction, it's their, their own kind of different ways that they operate. And so, you know, the, our clientele, you know, they get used to, you know, different things. Cause I know I'd have some who they'd either be coming back to kill their number or, you know, run out their sentence at the County level, coming back from DOC or,
00:03:57
Speaker
kind of in transition, but yeah, they'd, they'd want it to be run or expect to be run like a prison. Like, no, it's the County jail. We don't operate that way. yeah We don't divide you guys up. We don't do like what you got is what you got. Sorry. So yeah, it's, it's just so many layers, but it's just one small ah thing that I experienced. And I'm, I'm sure a lot of our ah deputies and staff, it's eyeopening for sure. Oh yes, definitely.
00:04:20
Speaker
Um, so then with that, you mentioned the, the JSOC team did the special operations group. How'd you get involved with that or hear about that? So, uh, one of my FTOs, uh, senior deputy Tanner, he told me about it cause, um, he was my first FTO. So he was telling me all about the jail, everything that I could do at the jail, but all the career opportunities. And he told me he was on the team and he said that I should apply when it comes out. he told me just pretty much everything that they do, which really interested me. Yeah.
00:04:48
Speaker
Um, no, for sure. And, for those unfamiliar and even like myself that were, that just wasn't around when when I worked in the jail. um Can you explain what JSOG is and what type of situations you guys get activated and called into? Yeah, definitely.
Handling High-Risk Scenarios
00:05:03
Speaker
Of course. So yeah like I mentioned before, it's a special operations group.
00:05:07
Speaker
So we get called for just, you
00:05:11
Speaker
mainly the types of situations that the regular jail deputies can't handle because we have different equipment. We use different tactics and everything. So it could be anything from somebody who's barricaded themselves in and so in their cell, somebody who we need to escort that's very high risk.
00:05:28
Speaker
um And then if we need to provide any extra security for the courts because it's a noticeable trial or just a lot of a lot of things going on with that trial.
00:05:40
Speaker
Do you guys do like high-risk transports or anything like that yeah from facility facility? oh Definitely we do high-risk transports. for Nice. Yeah, so it's it's almost like, I guess, for those who may know from whether law enforcement experiences or like Hollywood hollywood TV shows, yeah it's almost like a SWAT team but in the detention setting. Pretty much. That's how I like to describe it to friends and family outside of work. They're like, oh, what's that? It's basically a SWAT team for the jail. Nice.
00:06:02
Speaker
um So what kind of training goes into being a part of JSOG? Like you know physical, tactical, mental prep, teamwork, that kind of stuff. Yeah. So we we train once a month. It's always either based around teamwork or just perishable skills. So that could involve shooting, handcuffing, defensive tactics, a whole bunch of things, honestly. And every now and then we have like a physical testing day just to see where we're all at and how we can improve and help each other.
00:06:29
Speaker
Yeah. And I'm sure just imagining a lot of that comes into getting repetitions because it's a, it's a skillset to go in and and tactically handle these situations as opposed to just a bum rush and,
00:06:43
Speaker
that's what may happen because you know in in the older days when you just have like the russian or you know uh people the inmates included deputies could possibly get hurt if they did they don't do something right there's not proper communication so with you guys it sounds like you train so much to where it's more of a fluid motion a little bit more of a ballet where you guys know these intricate steps And are much more versed in them.
00:07:08
Speaker
If otherwise, if we didn't have this team. Definitely. Because ah we do some scenarios in our training and I like to be the actor in those scenarios because like to give the, the other, the other operators like a little situation that they're not expecting. Yeah. Because
De-escalation Success Story
00:07:23
Speaker
whenever we do a cell extraction, anything could happen. Right. Any of these other transports, courthouse security, anything can happen.
00:07:30
Speaker
So I want to make sure that a my guys are prepared for that. 100%. one hundred percent Yeah, no. And those are dynamic situations because whether somebody is not wanting to go to court or not wanting to go, you're you're not willing to move sales or whatever the case may be.
00:07:43
Speaker
i mean, you're, you're moving somebody against their will. So in any instance, that's very difficult. They're going to give various levels of resistance to that. So doing that safely and efficiently is is important.
00:07:54
Speaker
Yes, for sure. That's awesome. Um, So cell instructions, as you mentioned, high-risk transports, I mean, they sound intense. What's going on ah through your mind when you're gearing up for something like that? So you guys have been activated. So what's whats what's kind of your mental checklist to get you ready?
00:08:09
Speaker
My mental checklist is making sure I got all my proper equipment. And then at the same time, like just running scenarios through my head. Like I like i mentioned before, anything can happen. So if the inmate does this, how will we respond?
00:08:23
Speaker
Because one thing that we always got to remember is that time is on our side. So if the inmate is acting one way and we need to change our tactics, we're going to back off for a little bit and then think to ourselves, what can we do to get this guy out safely to minimize risk to us? Not only us, but him as well or her.
00:08:39
Speaker
Yeah. with With that, I just saw this with the training aspect. Do you guys kind of have specialty positions or you guys fairly cross-trained where you can just hop in as needed on spots of whatever the situation is? So sometimes if we need to go hands-on, we we designate right away. Like you're going to be arms, you're going be legs, you're going to stand by in case they need help or stand by, find work.
00:09:05
Speaker
if If there's a spot that you find is lacking her or somebody's not on it. So thinking back to some of those, can you walk us through maybe a memorable or challenging situation as as a part of the team that that stands out?
00:09:20
Speaker
Yeah. um There was one.
Role of Communication and Teamwork
00:09:22
Speaker
it was during night shifts. I think it was during a full moon. So you know the behavior. Of course. The behavior is always going to be different. Yeah. um But this this inmate, he barricaded himself in a cell and he put a toilet paper over his window so we couldn't see.
00:09:37
Speaker
And he was just yelling out like, oh, like I i hurt my celly. Like, what are you what are you guys going to do? We don't know if the celly's not hurt because he's not responding to us. Yeah. So a lot of unknowns and he's quasi baiting you guys or baiting the deputies who are working that housing model. Okay.
00:09:52
Speaker
So he's all like, I hurt my celly. What are you guys going to do? What are you guys going to do? So we backed off for a little bit. we were like, okay, we got to come up with a plan. We got to do this. We got do that. And then eventually we were able to get compliance out of him.
00:10:05
Speaker
So we didn't necessarily have to use that much force, but he complied and then his cellmate was fine. Thank God. Yeah. so Yeah. I mean, with a lot of those situations too, it's not just for people see the visual of it, which any use of force or, again, you're, you're, you're moving one person against their will and whatever, for whatever reason, it doesn't look good for a lot of times it is for the overall safety. And that is the goal is, is the safety and wellbeing of either that person, their cellmate personnel, whatever that case may be. oh yeah
00:10:37
Speaker
Um, so how do you balance being in those moments, like assertive and professional while still ensuring the safety and respect of the inmates involved?
00:10:50
Speaker
So you're trying to get that compliance, but you're also still trying to give them like the basic dignity and just, you know, ah still abiding by general practices.
00:10:59
Speaker
Um, do you mind rewording that question? Yeah. I mean, like if, if you know, when you're having to so take charge that situation, so let's let's say on that one, you've got, you know, the, the windows covered.
00:11:11
Speaker
So you're, you're, you're given some verbal commands. Like how do you remain assertive and professional, but still be like, okay, this is about safety guys. Hey, make sure we don't want to hurt him. We just want to make sure that, you know, he's out of the cell or the cellmates able to come out to safety. Yeah.
00:11:25
Speaker
Like, how do like, is, is there a balance or or or, is it, you know, with all the training, are you guys able to accomplish those things pretty fluidly? I would say it's a little bit of both. ah We were able to accomplish it, accomplish it very fluidly.
00:11:38
Speaker
At the same time, we also got to remember that we can't let ourselves get caught in our emotion. Right. So
Misconceptions and Realities of Detention Officers
00:11:43
Speaker
if one of us sees each other, like that, it's getting to us a little bit. We'll tap that guy out. We'll switch, switch who's giving commands.
00:11:51
Speaker
Yeah, no, that, and that was a great segue because that's kind of what I was getting at. Cause of course in any situation where the intensity is levels up, there's danger. so of course people just naturally, your journaling goes up. So yeah, being able to recognize that within ourselves, but then within our teammates,
00:12:07
Speaker
And make sure, nope, we're going to be calm. We're going safe. We're going to do this as we've trained. So yeah, that's, that's good. So you're not only maintaining that yourself, but looking out for your teammates. Oh yeah, for sure. And then we also have like a ah script that we all memorize on what to tell the inmate whenever we're doing a cell instruction. Okay. So it's pretty much just ingrained in our heads at this point. Yeah. And they're probably clear commands. So they can't say they don't understand. And well, and that builds up a lot of trust too, within the team where you're, you know, you guys are training so much.
00:12:38
Speaker
So with that trust and teamwork being huge on, on J SOG, how do you build that kind of bond? I mean do you guys do any like special activities or is it just through over time? Like how do you guys kind of gel?
00:12:49
Speaker
It's just over time because ah a majority of the time it's, you know, it's our boys from our shift because it's split on the beginning of the week and then the other half of the week. So we both have ah multiple teams on those shifts on A side and B side.
00:13:04
Speaker
And then at the same time, too, we also have what we call a JSOG week. So that's whenever we have new members coming in we go over everything with them. And then at the very end of the week, we have a little barbecue.
00:13:16
Speaker
So we all talk to each other. we Get some camaraderie. Exactly. That's awesome. Okay. That's a great point about the bond of just team building. But even going back a little bit, what's something or some a few things that somebody might not know in general about what it's like working in a detention center detention setting?
00:13:34
Speaker
Uh, you know, always, whenever I tell people, like I work at a jail or detention center, they're always like, Oh, so you're you're not like an actual like cop. And I'm like, well, actually I, I am. This is one of the very few ones where like, yeah, I'm certified. Like if I see a crime that happens, I could charge them.
00:13:49
Speaker
I don't have to wait for somebody else to come charge them. And then paperwork gets figured out there. Yeah. I mean, having, and and we've done it to where we'll even cross stream between divisions and people transfer from division to division. But yeah, I mean, you can,
00:14:04
Speaker
do your own investigation in the housing unit, something happens right away. That's a great point. There's no delay on what's going on or being able to secure a crime scene. I mean, all of our certified staff go through our academy. So we're all, we all have the same training. And then as you branch out through your career, you might have specialties, but yeah, we have that same base of
Positive Interactions with Inmates
00:14:21
Speaker
knowledge. That's, that's a really good point to where, um you know, even at like in a prison setting, you're not going to get that. You're going to have to wait for a local PD person to show up if something happens. Yeah.
00:14:31
Speaker
um have there been moments where an inmate surprised you, whether that's through like a positive interaction or helped you in some way? Like, you you know, I've seen some of those videos where, you know, there's a medical incident and of course like the deputy whoever is like it very vulnerable and the inmates actually come in and help. Like, have you ever had any experience like that where there's been a positive interaction? Cause you always hear the negative, but yeah, actually there has been quite a few.
00:14:57
Speaker
um, or Do have you have time for two? or Let's do it. yeah Yeah. Well, the main one that's really like popped out for me, it didn't happen to me personally, but I responded to it.
00:15:09
Speaker
So there's a code 200 that got called. That means like there's a fight or disturbance happening. Okay. And it was deputy involved. So one of our one of our fellow deputies was fighting an inmate. And so I get there, he's fighting with him in the shower.
00:15:21
Speaker
And then like we, we handcuff the guy, take take him to a to a cool down cell. And then I come to find out that there was actually an inmate who came to help the deputy.
00:15:32
Speaker
Oh, okay. So he was pulling, he was trying to pull the other guy off of the deputy. And then once he's heard that we were coming in, he backed off and went back to his cell. So that was, that was very surprising for me.
00:15:43
Speaker
That is surprising. Cause even in that, you know, and as we mentioned before, kind of that culture, he's putting himself at risk. Cause now, you know, who knows what the other inmates are saying about him, or what they may want to do to him because he stepped in to help, but that good on, it's good on that person. yeah That's awesome. one hundred percent What about your other one? um not Not as exciting, but ah mainly there's this there's a unruly inmate, and then he was just... Didn't want to listen to any commands, nothing like that. But then his cellmate saw me, and he was like, hey, like this guy's a good deputy.
00:16:13
Speaker
Listen to what he's saying. He'll get you taken care of. yeah And so it's just... It's just a little reminder on how you have to treat people because my main thing that I always think, I always say to myself, if they give you if you give me respect, I'll give you respect.
00:16:29
Speaker
And it's the same with the inmates too. Because even though we're wearing different uniforms, essentially, we're both still people. So my main thing is to always remember that if they give me respect, I'll i'll give them respect.
00:16:41
Speaker
But once they disrespect me, that's that's kind of out the window. Yeah. And that's
Maintaining Team Morale
00:16:45
Speaker
great lesson for those who either are are in that setting or looking to get into law enforcement, whether it's in a detention setting, whether it's on street setting, even as a detective, like I always had that mind as well. so When and I can't remember where I picked it up, but just giving basic human dignity and respect isn't hard. So we don't have to go in and completely deny people of that when we're dealing with them, especially in in a detention setting like that.
00:17:10
Speaker
But just, Also, my other thing is I kind of let them dictate like, okay, you're, if you're cool, I'm cool. That too. If you're going up here, well then guess what? Like I have to respond to you to make sure I'm still render doing my job and rendering situation safe. So I let them kind of, do and and I would verbalize that like, Hey, like you, it's up to you how we want to roll. Like if you want to cool off, we can talk.
00:17:32
Speaker
If not, this is still going to happen, but it's up to you how it, how it goes. think, but um I, i Because in this culture, people talk about, you know, being a hugger or whatever, which means that, you know, you're you're very lax in how you interact with the inmates or let them kind of walk on you, so to speak.
00:17:49
Speaker
So I was never a hugger, but I was always fair. And I was fair with everybody, whether they're coming in from DOC, whether they're just, they're in in and out on a bond, whatever the case may be and anywhere in between. Like, hey, here's my expectations. Here's how we run.
00:18:03
Speaker
And it's up to you of how this, your stay is going to be. And I was, I was fair and equal to everybody. exactly And I think that's pretty common with a lot of our, with a lot of our staff. Oh yeah. Cause you know, I looked, I get the pay paid the same regardless.
00:18:17
Speaker
Exactly. So if you, if you make it easy on me and we have a cool night, you guys watch TV and lock down and chill. Or if we have to, you know, things get crazy. mean, it's up to you guys how we, how we do this. Exactly. Cause as a field training officer, as a FTO, that's what I always tell my trainees. You gotta be firm with these guys, but gotta be fair at the same time. Yeah.
00:18:36
Speaker
Yeah. and And just be human. mean, cause that's one thing too, is I wouldn't like being away from my family and locked in small little cell and ah and a, so you know, small housing unit with, you know, limited time to do stuff stuff I like to do as, as a person. So
Keeping Up with Evolving Tactics
00:18:50
Speaker
yeah, just having that,
00:18:51
Speaker
basic human dignity is important. I'm glad that they hear that That's very, that's still very pervasive. Um, how do you keep morale up in like high stress situations? So we mentioned some of those kind of, ah you know, code 200 things like that, but you know, the digit center as itself, just running as a many cities, the high stress environment, how do you keep morale up both personally and among the team? let Let's say when you guys are being activated or make maybe maybe you have multiple activations and and ah in a shift, how do you, how do you still stay positive and keep morale up and be professional?
00:19:23
Speaker
Well, whenever we get deployed, what we always do is like a little debrief. We always go over the positive. Like, oh, like you you did such a good job on this. You did such a good job on commands.
00:19:34
Speaker
That it just, it keeps us, you know. Yeah, and you give that mutual recognition. Exactly. And that's that's one thing I like to see because, um oh, I also didn't mention, I'm also an assistant team lead for the JSOG team.
00:19:49
Speaker
So I always like to make sure that my guys know like, hey, they they did a good job. Cause if I see that they're, they're nervous about the deployment or something like that, but they end up doing good. I'm gonna make sure they know that they do. Yeah. 100%.
00:20:00
Speaker
one hundred Yeah. Cause nobody likes that leader that only you only hear from when something's going bad. Exactly. yeah It's good to give, mean like, Hey, here's some things we can work on, but Hey, great job on this. Like but that's good.
The Power of Communication
00:20:10
Speaker
Um,
00:20:12
Speaker
So with you guys being specialized, like technology, equipment, tactics, they evolve and they change and they get better. How do you, how does a team and and yourself stay up to date and sharp with just all the situations that you handle and all the new things that are coming online?
00:20:25
Speaker
So just ah like I mentioned before, we train once a month. So we talk about the new, our commander and and or sergeant talks to us about the new equipment that's coming out or we could possibly be getting.
00:20:36
Speaker
We recently got something new that's pretty cool in my opinion. And ah I was able to get an instructor and armorer's course for it. Oh, that's cool. Yeah. So I was able to get more well-versed in that.
00:20:48
Speaker
And it's essentially like a, A police paintball gun pretty much. Okay. Except a a lot more better. Okay. You load it like a regular paintball gun. Tactical. Tactical. There we go.
00:20:59
Speaker
It's even got that yellow color in there. Yeah. It's a little sting to it. A little sting. All right. ah um So you mentioned, you know, staying up on your tactics and even and going to specialized schools. um What's the hardest skill to master when it comes to JSOG work?
00:21:17
Speaker
When comes to JSOG work... is it Is it the hands-on tactics? Is it communication? Is it the team building? Is it the new gear? what would What would you say is kind of the hardest skill to master? I would say communication because a lot of the time, like I mentioned before, when somebody goes to the jail, it's kind of intimidating if you've never been around that culture or those kind of people before.
00:21:37
Speaker
So you don't really know how to talk to them. Yeah. So you you could like tell yell out your police jargon. They're not going to really understand. Everything you remember from Academy – Yeah.
Unexpected Gratitude from Inmates
00:21:47
Speaker
Yeah. So it's, it's all about communication with everybody at the jail. Yeah. Because if you talk to them one way, they weren't, they won't really understand how you're saying, but if you break it down and it was like, Hey, this is essentially like what I'm asking.
00:22:01
Speaker
They'll be like, Oh, okay. deb Like I'll, I'll do what you tell me to. Yeah. No, it's, it's funny. You mentioned that because even over the years as I've taught at the Academy, yeah I'll make mention and, you know coming out of break or something, like yeah we, so you know, we have all these mandated hours on the gun range, all these mandated hours on the driving course, hands on with arrest control.
00:22:20
Speaker
But 95% of our job is communication is yeah how we talk to people, the way the words we use, you know, and, and much like you mentioned, getting people to understand here's what we're doing. Here's why, or here's what I need. Here's why, or, or here's what you're going to do.
00:22:35
Speaker
But do it in a way to where it accomplishes the goal. Cause regardless what people may see on TV or the news, like we don't want to go hands-on. We don't want to have to use force. Um, if the situation dictates that we will, but the goal is to get compliance and get it, you know, as as easily as possible.
00:22:54
Speaker
Um, so yeah, that, that communication piece is huge. You know, I, highly recommend, especially if people are unknown to this world they're getting into it to start the career, but even when you're passing out mail or, know,
00:23:07
Speaker
bullet paper and hygiene items like chit chat, but keep an ear out, like listen to the culture, what's going on. And just kind of learn it, use it as like a little school and self sharp. Don't just, you know, kind of hide away in the office or anything like that. yeah So um I, yeah, it's a, she I couldn't agree with you more about that communication piece. so not only with specialized teams and personnel amongst each other with the deputies, but also with the population we serve is huge.
00:23:34
Speaker
Um, What do you find most rewarding
Unpredictable Challenges in Detention Work
00:23:38
Speaker
about your job? So in general, and then being a part of JSOG.
00:23:43
Speaker
The most rewarding thing is sometimes I don't expect it when I help an inmate out with something. it was oh thank you, Deb. I really appreciate that. kind of Kind of throws me off a little bit because I don't really expect that thanks whenever get them like a phone number or like they I give them a kite, which is essentially like a request form for whatever they need to get out. Like, oh, I really i really need to get this out, Deb. Like, okay, I'll sign it. Here's your here's your copy.
00:24:13
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah. So being able to plug them in some resources that, you know, it'd be really easy for you just to say no, not right now. Exactly. yeah but Just taking that extra, extra moment can make a huge difference for somebody or even just how that shift is going to run. Like they may be totally, totally cool after you do that. So, oh yeah, definitely something to keep them.
00:24:32
Speaker
Conversely, what's the toughest part of your job?
00:24:38
Speaker
going say the inmates because ah like is they're like a box of chocolates. You never know what you're going to get. yeah So like I mentioned before, just every day is different. Yeah.
00:24:48
Speaker
But just operating the unknown is what makes you a better deputy. 100%.
Quick-Fire Questions with Santiago
00:24:54
Speaker
Yeah. yeah Because there could be a situation where it's like, oh, I remember this.
00:24:59
Speaker
Like I dealt with something like this earlier. Yeah. Because I remember hearing this story in the academy about a, about a scenario we did. It happened to somebody out on the road and he was like, Oh, this is just like the scenario. oh And he was able to, to work through it and got to a positive ending. So, Yeah. And I'm sure you've seen this as an FTO, but yeah, a lot of the, like the scenarios we work in training and and go over come from real experience from previous deputies calls or something we're seeing regionally, um, to where, yeah, we, it gets made into where it's applicable.
00:25:32
Speaker
Um, as, as after the training is over. Um,
00:25:38
Speaker
So a quick lightning round, just for for sure. Definitely. What's your favorite gear, um, that you rely on with, with the team. So what's your, like, if if they're like, all right, we need something And you're like, Hey, like I'm on that. I got it. Sarge.
00:25:51
Speaker
Oh, definitely the 40 millimeter launcher. Okay. So that's like essentially what you see in those movies with like the riots are happening and somebody is like shooting off. Yeah. A little gas rounds.
00:26:03
Speaker
All right. So that's your job. Yeah. All right. Um, what's your go-to coffee or energy drink before shift? i have one I actually don't drink candy juice drinks, but I have gotten into coffee. All right. So I just, I like to go to Dutch Bros, get myself the vanilla ice protein latte. We got a Dutchies guy, you know, oh shout out to Dutchies. We are taking sponsorships. So anybody at Dutch Bros is interested.
00:26:27
Speaker
Um, no, it's funny. Yeah. Do you get the soft top? I don't actually. Oh, got to check it out. Um, what's your most memorable, like that just happened moment, like whether it's a JSOG incident or just anything and on shift.
00:26:41
Speaker
We put a guy in a quiet room once and then five minutes later he started, he found out one of the deputies, it was his birthday that night and he started singing a happy birthday. That's cool.
00:26:52
Speaker
Cause
JSOG Gear Showcase
00:26:53
Speaker
yeah. So the quiet room is a padded, very loosely term, but, but a room where essentially if somebody is completely running amok, it's where they can be safely.
00:27:05
Speaker
They can do whatever, but there's nothing in that room other than just a little drain at the bottom that's covered. And then once they're cooled off and they get checked on regularly, but once they cool off and then they can come out and go back to whatever their normal environment is.
00:27:19
Speaker
um So yeah, to have somebody in that quiet room yeah who then cools off, decides he wants to serenade somebody with happy birthday is literally five minutes ago. He was yelling, cursing at us, pounding on the door and then happy birthday came out of nowhere. where I'm like, okay. would have been like, thank you so much. I appreciate that.
00:27:36
Speaker
Um, ah what's a song that gets in your head before training or operations? Like, do you have like a, like that's like a jam that you have running through your head? No, like some Kenny Long, it's highway to the danger zone. ah good call.
00:27:50
Speaker
All A little danger zone. Maybe we can throw a clip in there. Those that haven't seen top gun in the last 35 years. Um, and then what's one word your teammates would use to describe you. Okay. I used to,
00:28:06
Speaker
Yeah, we'll do a compound word. That'll work. We'll hyphenate it Yeah. So the short king. Okay. All right. So it might be tall or many in stature, but big in personality. The crown adds six feet. so you know Okay, man, that's a huge crown.
00:28:22
Speaker
Well, and I know you brought some gear with you. Are we good to go over some of your gear? Oh, yes, definitely. For sure. Let's do it. We'll take a quick pause and we'll go over some gear. So we've got you brought in some gear, so I appreciate that. so what are the toys? I don't know if you want to start with your favorite or just a common one or just whatever one's up first. Well, this is the main one that we usually use for our cell extractions. So this is a KSG shotgun. OK, so it's got two barrels that we essentially load it from right here. OK. And it's these guys right here.
00:28:50
Speaker
They're a less than lethal round. This is called a Superstar. This is one of the ones we use. And then we also use kind of a similar looking one called the Starlight. So the Starlight is essentially what the first one we use. And then if we need to ramp it up a little bit because he's not responding to the Starlight, we use this guy, the Superstar. He's just a little bit packs a little bit more of a punch than the Starlight.
00:29:14
Speaker
But this is mainly the the end all if ah we're using KSG shop and it looks like a little tentacles is essentially just a tiny little kush ball. Essentially. Yeah. a essential yeah So they're all different colored. Yeah. There's also like high velocity superstar that's like a purple kush ball.
00:29:30
Speaker
Our star lights are usually a yellow one. Okay. And the goal is to get their attention and compliance. Yeah, because if they're telling us like, oh, I'm not going listen to you. Like, if you get in here, I'm going stab you. Or, yeah, or they're holding like a shank or an item or or somebody else hostage. Yeah, so we want to we want get them distracted from that.
00:29:49
Speaker
and onto what we want. 100%. Cool. then moving on, my like I mentioned before, my personal favorite. This is just one of our 40 millimeter launchers. This is just a little single tube that we got going on. Okay. So we just load it in through here, pop it back up, and then shoot if necessary. So this is essentially for like our riot situations. Okay. Or if we're...
00:30:13
Speaker
we essentially go into a pod and a lot of them are riding calming down not locking down not going back to your cells we essentially shoot them with one of these and then handcuff them take them out okay so what's your and i guess i could ask this for what's your target areas for those like what are you aiming for so these ones we're looking for just appendages okay arms legs like large muscle groups large muscle groups pretty much or they're barricaded hiding behind a chair in the cell the desk If we see like a little bit of their foot sticking out, that's essentially a target too. Gotcha.
00:30:48
Speaker
And then we use these guys. So this is like a hardened foam blue nose tip. yeah a little bit definitely thick but almost like a little tiny racket ball it definitely packs a punch okay and we also use this one which is like essentially a pepper ball round yeah so that's like a little too much little soft foam that breaks upon impact and at releases a cloud of pepper spray so it's it's it's an irritant so they're going start Coughing and they're gonna want to get away from whatever that was and you can't we get to a decontaminated area and and comply it's just like a whole psychological thing like how long could I deal with this pepper spray? Yeah, I have to listen to these guys Yeah, you know, I would guess you guys usually went out on that one we we do yeah And then one of our newest ones that I mentioned before okay is this saber launcher
00:31:37
Speaker
Yeah. so So for our sporty people, yeah, it does look like a paintball gun or you'd use that ah like an outdoor paintball situation. While we were training with this, what kind of threw people off is the safety.
00:31:50
Speaker
Because if we move it down like that for people who shoot rifles and everything, when usually to the side like that, that means safety is on. But if we flip it down, safety's on.
00:32:01
Speaker
To fire it, we had switch back up. Okay. yeah So you're just a a mindset switch. A mindset switch. And then, like I mentioned before, we use these rounds. They're a little bit fragile, but um they just essentially have a powder inside of them. So these are just training rounds that we use. okay There's a whole bunch of different colored ones. There's a black and orange one. That's the capsaicin. That's basically a pepper ball. A little pepper spray in a ball. We also have...
00:32:28
Speaker
a black and yellow round, which is a tracking round. So if we're dealing, like I mentioned before, right situation and we're looking for specific people who are the agitators. We're going to shoot them with the tracking rounds and then have our guys go get that person.
00:32:41
Speaker
Wow. how mean How does it track them? It has a green dye. Oh, okay. So like it marks their clothes or it marks their skin. So we get it. So it's not like an air tag or anything that you're not. Okay. All right. And then we have a couple more that we don't have yet, but essentially there's like a black rubber ball round, which is an impact round in case we need get somebody who's charging at us or like I mentioned before, ride situation.
00:33:07
Speaker
And then we haven't run into the situation yet, but Sabre also makes these solid white rounds for glass breaking pretty much. Okay. So if we need get into a cell. Yeah, so
Advice for Future Officers
00:33:19
Speaker
that that would make sense. um Now with with these, do you guys utilize these on each other or do you have any people who actually voluntarily, know?
00:33:30
Speaker
For this instance, I consider them kind of weird in that way, but you know, whatever people like. But yeah, you do have some people who are like they want to volunteer and feel everything. So do you have any of those people? so these two, no, but we did have a couple of volunteers that are a couple of trainings ago for our Sabre launcher. Yeah. ah People wanted to test it out. ah So myself and another operator who are an instructor in it, we're like, okay. So we shot three people. They're like, oh, okay. it's not that It feels like a paintball round.
00:33:57
Speaker
Okay. But then it ended up bruising pretty bad. Yeah. Once that adrenaline runs off. and like And what's this little, looks like a little roach exterminator thing. What's this one do? So this guy is OC vapor.
00:34:11
Speaker
Okay. So it's different than the spray, the OC spray. This is a vapor. So if I sprayed it in here, what we'd have to do to decontaminate ourselves is literally just walk out the door. Okay. So it doesn't linger as much. Yeah. ventilation system.
00:34:26
Speaker
You're good to go. Okay. That's all you have to do. You don't have to wash your face, nothing like that. And this little wand just helps us get into the cell. Okay. If my cell door's closed, they're covering the window, we don't know what's going on.
00:34:39
Speaker
If we need to use this, then we'll we'll use it. We'll just put it under the door, spray, and then... Okay. Wait. Yeah. And time like you mentioned before, time's on your side. Exactly. Awesome.
00:34:50
Speaker
Well, this is amazing gear. i do have one last question. So and and comes in, uh, encompassing kind of your experience, your whole career, what advice would you give to somebody who's looking into getting into law enforcement?
00:35:04
Speaker
I guess just prepare yourself mentally, because there's a lot of things you're going to see that not the regular layperson will. yeah There's always going to be something that either sticks with you because of how dramatizing it is, or Or just, yeah yeah, stuff like that. No, that's, and i've I've heard this statistic time and time again where the, you know, average person will experience two to three trauma incidents throughout their lifetime and you could experience two to three in a shift. I mean, we we experience hundreds in ah in a year. So, yeah, so having and having yourself prepared but also having those resources where if you do need to seek out some extra help or, so not having
Conclusion and Listener Invitation
00:35:46
Speaker
that knowledge. Well, appreciate you being here. of course. Awesome. Thanks so much. Learn about JSOG.
00:35:51
Speaker
um Again, i mean, like you guys have the coolest stuff and I've seen some of your trainings and demonstrations. So I know you guys are on the ball, but also doing it in the most efficient and safe way possible. So testament to you and your team. Thank you,
00:36:04
Speaker
Well, that's it for another episode of Breaking and Adventuring. Remember, you can follow us on YouTube and all social medias. And if you have any questions, any comments, any episode suggestions, things you're curious about, you can always email us at communityconnections at adamsheriffco.gov.
00:36:19
Speaker
Thanks.