COURTESY OF CHRIS RAGASA
A three-man unit of the Hawaii County Police Special Response Team makes an approach to a doorway, one of several scenarios practiced by the team.
HILO >> Big Island police Lt. Daniel Bega joined the Hawaii County Police Special Response Team for the mental challenge. Big Island police team
passes key testA hostage standoff at the
Naniloa proves the mettle of
the new Special Response unitBy Rod Thompson
rthomspon@starbulletin.com"It wasn't the thrill of action, the possibility of getting into some kind of major incident," he said.
But the team did get into a major incident two weeks ago when David Robert Field, 33, wanted on various warrants, climbed up the side of the Hawaii Naniloa Resort, crashed through a window and barricaded himself in a hotel room with a hostage, according to charges filed in court.
Six hours later, Field released the hostage unharmed. The next morning, he surrendered without incident.
Field was scheduled to return to District Court today for a continued hearing.
The Naniloa incident ended the way it was supposed to, said Officer Isaac Fiesta III, the team's trainer, who imparts knowledge gained doing similar work in the Marine Corps Reserve.
According to the National Tactical Officers Association, the call-out of a tactical team rarely results in gunfire. Fiesta mentioned a Florida team in existence for more than 20 years that has shot suspects only twice during that time.
"The publicity we get on TV is not very accurate," he said.
"It is very mentally challenging to stay focused. It's mentally taxing," Fiesta said.
In drawn-out situations, like the one at the Naniloa, some members are periodically pulled back to relax while others go forward, he said.
It is also hard work physically. Team training includes members running while wearing and carrying 40 pounds of gear, said Deputy Chief Harry Kubojiri.
As a major, Kubojiri was assigned by former Chief Wayne Carvalho to create the team in 1997. The Big Island was the only police force in the state without one.
Kubojiri spent two years writing the paperwork, then testing equipment. Other departments had done it many times before, but Kubojiri saw lawsuits on the horizon if something ever went wrong and the Big Island department had not done its own testing.
Different scenarios receive different responses. A building entry is different from a carjacking or an airplane assault. At the Naniloa, two scenarios played out, a hostage taken and a suspect barricaded.
The team had deployed before, carried to a Hilo drug house in a National Guard armored vehicle during a drug raid in January, for example.
But the Naniloa was the team's first hostage situation.
Fortunately, the 14-member team, some from Kau and Kona, were in Hilo for training that day, Kubojiri said. But some were already driving home when they got the call-back.
Driving time is one reason why the team is not deployed lightly. The drive from Kona takes two hours. Nationwide the average time to deploy is 50 minutes, Kubojiri said.
The team is divided into the tactical unit, which usually goes in with guns and arrests suspects, and the negotiators, who talk to suspects usually by phone, Kubojiri said.
The incident commander decides what happens.
At the Naniloa, hotel workers called all rooms and became suspicious when a certain eighth-floor room did not answer, despite the occupant's car being outside.
Negotiators called for hours until the suspect finally picked up the phone. Finally, he let the hostage go. There was no need to hurry events after that.
"We knew he wasn't going to go anywhere," Kubojiri said. "You want voluntary compliance as much as possible. The objective is a safe resolution for everybody."
