Recorder News Staff
The combined Amsterdam Police Department and the Montgomery County Sheriff's Office S.W.A.T. team ascended upon the Lynch Literacy Academy on Tuesday, but it had nothing to do with a shooter or any hostage situation.
The police agencies' elite squad took advantage of the school's winter break and held an extensive four-hour training session using tactical gear to simulate a possible real-life shooter scenario.
Det. Lt. Kurt Conroy of the APD, who is also the SWAT team commander, said the training at the school is beneficial because it gives members a chance to see the layout of the school and allows them to experience role-played situations inside of a large building.
It was a sentiment shared by Amsterdam Chief Gregory Culick following the training session at the Wilbur H. Lynch Literacy Academy.
"Within the city limits that's our more volatile concern, with the things that happened at Columbine and stuff like that the guys want to know the nooks and crevices of those buildings," he said. "After not being in the building for years, you forget that this is here now or that's there."
The county and city SWAT team is made up of 11 members of the APD, including Police Officer Eduardo Ortiz who is the team leader, and 4 members of the Montgomery County Sheriff's Office, according to Conroy.
Detective Thomas Nethaway and Sgt. Owen Fuhs round out the team as the APD's two negotiators.
Conroy said all the members are volunteers but have to be selected and continue their SWAT training twice a month during four-hour sessions each.
"You request to be on the team but there is a selection process and there are requirements that need to be met," he said. "Everyone goes through specialized training."
He thanked the Greater Amsterdam School District for allowing the group to train in the middle school.
"It's such a large building so you can simulate working as a team because you don't know where the threat is," Conroy said. "It's really helpful that the school district allows us to do this ... because it keeps us pretty sharp."
During the training police officers, family members or members of the Amsterdam Police Explorers "role play" during the simulations as either targets or victims and SWAT members engage in various situations using airsoft guns.
Culick said the exercises are invaluable.
"The training is immensely important and we'd like to do more of it, frankly, in the event that one of these crazy scenarios ever plays out," he said. "We'd really like to be comfortable going into such a situation."
The partnership with county is equally important, he added.
"It's huge," Culick said. "Every raid we have, they offer us extra manpower to take down our doors when it comes to things like that and vice versa, we are there for them when they get an emergency call right up on Route 30 and we're this close so we'll stabilize the situation for them."
The chief described the cooperating agency agreement between his department and the county's as "a great working relationship" that allows each law enforcement agency to share equipment, manpower, and resources.
As an example, Culick said the APD often uses the sheriff's drug surveillance equipment as well as their mobile command center, which is something the city doesn't have access to on its own.
It's especially important for the SWAT team, because it is mostly utilized in carrying out search and arrest warrants around the city.
"Most of the time right now they are called in for drug raids," he said. "Nine-tenths of our use for our team right now is when we're going to do a big drug raid."
But the team is in place for extreme situations.
Culick said he could recall such an example "years ago," where a man was holding his wife hostage on Church Street and the city and county SWAT team was called.
In addition to using school building, the SWAT team frequently trains at a building owned by a local businessman and also reviews the city's demolition list to see which buildings they can possibly go through to train for various situations before they are torn down.
The training is mutually valuable, according to GASD Superintendent Thomas Perillo.
"It's very beneficial because the police department gets a chance to practice their moves for SWAT team invasions," he said. "It's good because the more familiar the police department and other agencies become with our buildings, the easier it is going to be for them if something ever does happen."
Perillo said the windows and rooms in the schools are numbered and that police have access to all of the floor plans to the district's buildings.
Culick said area police would be ready if the unthinkable were to happen.
"With an active shooter situation, there are no 'ifs,' 'ands,' or 'buts,' your have to go," he said. "If there's some crazy, out of control kids you have to get in there and control the situation the best that you can, that's what the job calls for."
Contact JARRETT CARROLL at