Eagle County’s Special Operations Unit trains to be prepared for anything

Last Thursday, a corner of Eagle filled with people dressed in camouflage, clustered around armored vehicles, flying drones and pointing guns at a building.

This was not a dangerous incident but rather a training drill for Eagle County’s Special Operations Unit.

The Special Operations Unit is the trained law enforcement team called in for crisis situations, which can include active shooter events, hostage situations, criminal barricades, high-risk warrant service, searches for murderers and dignitary protection.

The team sees between three and seven crisis situations in a typical year and has protected prominent political figures like former President Joe Biden and former Vice President Mike Pence.

Most recently, the Eagle County Special Operations Unit arrested a suspect wanted for murder out of Florida off a Greyhound bus on Interstate 70 last month.

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“We thankfully, don’t get that many crisis situations a year,” said Greg Daly, the Avon police chief, who has been on the team for 21 years. “But we have to maintain a high level of readiness.”

Daly previously served as the team commander and is now one of the team’s tactical trainers and advisers.

What does Special Operations Unit training look like?

Eagle County’s Special Operations Unit has been in existence for over 30 years. The team formed a cross-municipality collaboration 16 years ago, with operators coming from the Eagle County Sheriff’s Office, Avon Police Department, Vail Police Department and Eagle Police Department.

The team also includes SWAT paramedics from Eagle County Paramedic Services, a negotiations team made up of law enforcement officers and support staff who drive the vehicles and operate the technology.

Openings on the roughly 45-member team are rare. When a spot is available, team members — already law enforcement officers — must complete a physical qualification, a shooting range evaluation and an oral board.

Twice a month, the Special Operations Unit holds an eight-hour training session to keep its operators sharp and ready for all types of dangerous situations. The unit also runs two 40-hour training blocks per year.

In its more than 30 years, the Special Operations Unit has never had to take a life.

“Our mission is to save lives, not take lives, but we have to be prepared to take a life in a high-risk situation,” Daly said. “We hope we never have to … Our goal is to try to negotiate a peaceful surrender.”

On Thursday, the Vail Daily tagged along for one of the team’s training drills: Delivering an arrest warrant to two gang members wanted for gun and drug violations, who had migrated to Eagle County from the Denver Metropolitan area. The building in Eagle that operators entered contained the two gang members and three civilians who may have been involved — all five characters played by police or code enforcement officers.

Thursday’s training simulation

Thursday’s training session consisted of three different simulations of situations the team might face. For the warrant service simulation, the team has been asked by the Colorado Bureau of Investigation to serve an arrest warrant and a search warrant on the building in Eagle.

“Just be ready for everything,” Daly said when briefing the operators ahead of the drill. 

Though it was a drill, the team’s charge was to treat the entire simulation as if it were a real-life situation.

“The purpose of today is to try and exercise all our components,” Daly said. “It’s always good to work through these things in a training situation so we’re better prepared in a live scenario.”

Operators were dressed in the camouflage uniforms they wear while on the job, and the team’s many additional components — armored vehicles, drones, robots, a medical ambulance and a mobile negotiations center — were also employed. 

“I see such value in having a well-trained, organized team to the community that when these events occur, that we are of top-notch training so we can deliver top-notch service,” Daly said.

Before the drill began, all participants were patted down several times to make sure they were not wearing a live firearm. The weapons they used during the drill were harmless, and the team used “training bangs” in lieu of flash bangs to soften the impact on the actors.

During the drill, the negotiations team was able to successfully convince the civilians to leave the building, despite initially encountering a language barrier when interacting with the suspects over the phone. They were patted down and taken into custody by the operators.

Next, using training bangs, the operators were able to force the suspects out of the building and take them into custody. All five actors were taken into custody without injury, even the suspect who exited the building while shooting.

Throughout the drill, Daly repeatedly emphasized one thing: The Special Operations Unit’s goal is to protect officers, community members, civilians and suspects.

“It’s all to save lives. Suspects included,” he said.