Preparing for the Worst, Team Trains for Disasters

With weapons drawn, members of the Putnam Emergency Response Team surround a car during an exercise last Friday. The world is a frightening place. Shootings, hostage situations, and acts of terrorism on the innocent have become all too common.

Putnam County is not immune to such unimaginable deeds, and, with the assistance of Sheriff Donald Smith, Carmel Police Chief Michael Johnson, and Kent Police Chief Donald Smith, the Putnam Emergency Response Team has been created.

The team consists of highly trained members of the three departments, led by Carmel Police Lt. Brian Karst, Carmel Police Officer Ernie Iarussi, Putnam County Sheriff's Department Sgt. Mike Szabo, and Kent Police Sgt. James Oster.

Lt. Karst described the team as a "tactical unit formed to handle critical incidents outside the scope of what patrol forces can handle—be it a hostage situation, a barricaded suspect, or an emotionally disturbed person."

On Friday, members of the Emergency Response Team traveled to the Putnam County Fish and Game Association range on Drewville Road in Carmel for a day of training and shooting under realistic conditions and invited this reporter along.

With members of the team standing by, Officer Ernie Iarussi thanks Fish and Game Association vice president John Kruglinski for his group's support. John Kruglinski, vice president of the 500-member association, was asked why his organization opens its facility to the officers. "We want to be friends of the community and we support our men and women in blue."

Officer Iarussi trains the officers on a regular basis. During Friday's realistic exercise, members of the Emergency Response Team received a "tip" that a "drug deal was going down" and those involved were known to be "heavily armed."

The team surrounded a car with weapons drawn and when the "suspects" observed the officers they "reached" for their weapons. Police returned fire, and within seconds the crisis had ended.

Officer Iarussi described the current unrest found across America as being "difficult for police. Times have changed and situations must be handled in a certain way. The members of this team are an incredible resource for Putnam County. They are highly dedicated, extremely well-trained, and never think twice about putting their lives and safety on the line when summoned. Our goal is to keep Putnam County safe. Anything can happen in small towns or big cities—crime doesn't sleep—violent situations can occur at any time—that's reality today."

Lt. Karst recalled two incidents when the team was pressed into action.

The first centered on an assignment in Mahopac when, after arguing with his wife, a 63-year-old man threatened to harm his family with a knife.

The woman escaped and drove to police headquarters but when officers arrived at the scene, the man threatened to take his own life after barricading himself inside the house.

The Emergency Response Team (ERT) was deployed, with one of its members a trained hostage negotiator. "After speaking to the man for 40 minutes, the man was convinced to drop his weapon and surrender," said Lt. Karst.

Another case involved a fugitive from California who was wanted for a brutal home invasion and sexual assault in the San Francisco area. The man was visiting friends in Putnam Valley when authorities learned of his whereabouts. With the assistance of the ERT, the suspect was apprehended as he bolted out a rear door of the house in an attempt to avoid being captured.

The lieutenant estimated the team has been summoned two dozen times since its creation four years ago.

Iarussi thanked members of the Fish and Game Association: "Their kindness and generosity allowing us to train twice a year on the range uninterrupted is invaluable."