Riot squad: How the tactical police unit keeps the peace

SINGAPORE: By removing my gas mask, I could feel the tear gas sting my face, slowly infiltrating my eyes and my throat. In 15 seconds, the burn in my eyes began to intensify and finally, I could barely breathe. I eagerly opened the heavy doors of the room and breathed fresh air while I went out.

This is the kind of intense training that members of the Police Tactical Unit take.

The unit is part of the Special Operations Command of the Singapore Police. He is responsible for a wide range of public policy tasks, ranging from dealing with civil unrest to the suppression of violent riots. Recently, journalists were invited to experience first-hand what it was like to be part of the UTP, including drills as well as being exposed to CS gas, commonly referred to as tear gas.

The first item on the agenda was putting on public order protection equipment, which would protect officers facing dangerous situations such as riots.

We were responsible for putting all the material in three minutes or less, which was quite a mission since it was the first time we were working with such material. After the whistle, the special operations coach did not let go of screaming orders as we all rushed awkwardly to move up a gear.

A flawless stay

With the help of a coach to whom I was attached, I completed the process in a short time – not without a few too wide straps and an apparently oversized helmet, which my trainer had to tighten up later.

The showcase began with a live demonstration of a scenario in which "workers" in a dormitory were holding a protest to protest wage disputes. This escalated into a violent "riot", the "workers" screamed, threw bottles and sticks and even lit a huge fire.

The police arrived armed and in combat gear, with shields, dogs, batons and tear gas canisters, to repel the rioters and solve the problem.

THE DRILL

It was now our turn to be part of the action. We started by walking about 500 meters towards the tactical vehicles of the SOC that would lead us to "riot". Halfway, the weight of the protective gear and the police shield, which totaled 20 kg, began to make me feel as if my arms and legs were slowly burning with fatigue. The SEP officers were walking beside us and seemed to be talking about a walk in the park.

We were taken to the area where the "riot" was taking place. We started with a "push" exercise where we stood in three rows facing the front of the riots, holding our police shields to form a wall. We had to keep our ground and keep our shields raised while the "rioters" were trying to push us away.

Then we felt what it was like to receive objects by violent "rioters". These were mostly plastic bottles filled with water that were thrown at us, but they weighed a lot, which could hurt us without the shield and the protective equipment. The officers who acted like rioters did not calm us down either, throwing bottles at us with such force that the bottles exploded when they collided with our shields.

AN ARM «LETHAL LESS»

We were presented with the P4 weapon, one of the least lethal options of the SEP for public order incidents. The P4 looks like a rifle and can be filled with indelible paint to mark and identify rioters, or oleoresin capsicum, a form of irritant that has an effect similar to that of tear gas.

If you've never handled rifles or firearms before, that's the next step. We had five shots each, and shooting the P4 was much more difficult than expected. His range of action allowed us to aim, but it was always a difficult task to try to hit the target.

TEAR GAS

Indicate the most painful part of your experience: being exposed to tear gas. Before that, we ran once around the enclosure and jumped on puppets. This was to stimulate perspiration, which caused the opening of our pores, so that we could feel the full effect of tear gas on our skin.

We were then asked to put on our gas masks. The mini-work session had me a little tired, so it was hard to control my breathing with the help of a gas mask. This did not prevent us from climbing several stairs to get to the room where tear gas would be released.

When everyone was in the room, an OSC coach started releasing tear gas, stoking smoke towards us all.

I started to feel itchy on my neck and my hands, which looked like a bunch of small ant bites. It was painful, but not unbearable. We were then told to remove our masks and tell our full name and NRIC number before leaving the room. In doing so, we should breathe and fully experience the effects of tear gas.

As soon as the tear gas hit my face, my eyes started to water and mucus began to fill my lungs. As the pain intensified, it became impossible to keep your eyes open. I began to feel disoriented and headed for the exit as soon as I mumbled my name and my NRIC number.

At the end of the day, it was simply a lite version of the training that a SEP officer must follow. Nevertheless, the harshness of these officers and the training they received helped to better understand the dangers they face while protecting the public.

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