Inside the Toronto Police Emergency Task Force (CTV news)

[Yrys]

http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20061130/wfive_noescape_061130/20061202?hub=WFive

A convoy of five police cars roars down Canada's busiest highway, the 401, at 140 kilometers
an hour, lights flashing, sirens wailing. I'm riding in one of those cars, part of a W-FIVE crew
making a documentary on the Toronto Police Emergency Task Force, and we're on our way to
an armed stand-off.

...

 

[COMMANDOS]

I watched it  on tv 2-3 days ago .

Super cool program to watch  !

The competition they did were also very nice .

Top moment , (The Sniper) when he shot the guy .

 

[The_Falcon]

I watched it  on tv 2-3 days ago .

Super cool program to watch  !

The competition they did were also very nice .

Top moment , (The Sniper) when he shot the guy .

Uh why exactly would that be a "top" moment?  Did you watch the whole thing, they don't go out of thier way to kill people, in fact they try like to make sure everyone (including the bad guy) does not get hurt. It certainly was not the "top" moment of that snipers life, as he transferred to the marine unit after that incident (I guess you missed that part). I suggest you clarify your comments, lest people on this who have actually have first hand experience in deadly force situations, cut you down (verbally that is).

 

[COMMANDOS]

I really dont care that the bad guy died , in fact i enjoyed it  .

He was threatening the life of an innocent women , i would have shot this guy without having 1% of mercy .

This is what they are trained for , defend and kill when needed .

if the guy left his job just because he killed the bad guy that his problem .

do you also think that the guys in Afghanistan will also leave the army because they are killing terrorists ?

Killing should not be the first option but if its necessary you will have to go for it to protect innocent .

 

[Bruce Monkhouse]

COMMANDOS,
Lets finish your BMQ first before ya start talking about what you would do, "without having 1% of mercy" alright?

Lets get back on the show topic or this ones toast......

 

[Inspir]

Great episode. I like how one of the ERT members explained how there job is way less dangerous than a regular street cop. I never would have thought that before.

Just getting to a call also seems almost as hectic as dealing with the call.

 

[zipperhead_cop]

This is what they are trained for , defend and kill when needed .

No, we are trained to stop a threat.  Sometimes shooting a person is the only way to stop the threat.  Dying can result from being shot, but it is however a medical condition and is most likely due to some shortcoming of the medical profession.  The officer involved is only doing their job. 

COMMANDOS, try to remember this Clint Eastwood quote from one of his movies (and not the one you think)

"It's a hell of a thing killin' a man, ya take away all he's got and all he's ever gonna have."

The rest of your post(s) is/are garbage and not worth further commenting on.

 

[MP 811]

The rest of your post(s) is/are garbage and not worth further commenting on.

Oh man, I totally agree with you there. You might also want to remember that the ETF are not a bunch of gun crazed guys looking for their next kill.  In fact, if you had listened to the program, you would have heard that the ETF only have 2 kills in their entire history.  That just goes to show their level of professionalism.

Simmer down sparky, you've got plenty of time to be a hero.....

 

[rmacqueen]

One time (many years ago) I missed my train in Toronto and had no place to spend the night.  Since it was summer I just kind of wandered the streets of downtown TO exploring.  About 3am a member of the ETF pulled up in his car to checkout what I was doing and when I told him what had happened he invited me to sit in the car with him.  We sat for about half an hour just shooting the s*** and talking about what it was like to be in the ETF.  It was a wonderful experience and to this day I still recall what a nice guy he was, not the stereotype that is so often portrayed.

 

[Pte_Martin]

I really dont care that the bad guy died , in fact i enjoyed it  .

He was threatening the life of an innocent women , i would have shot this guy without having 1% of mercy .

This is what they are trained for , defend and kill when needed .

if the guy left his job just because he killed the bad guy that his problem .

do you also think that the guys in Afghanistan will also leave the army because they are killing terrorists ?

Killing should not be the first option but if its necessary you will have to go for it to protect innocent .

i know of a couple of people who left the army because of Afghanistan

 

[vonGarvin]

i know of a couple of people who left the army because of Afghanistan

And I know of some who joined because of Afghanistan.

What's your point?

 

[Pte_Martin]

My point was That Commandos said
"do you also think that the guys in Afghanistan will also leave the army because they are killing terrorists"
And i was repling that yes some people have and do leave the army because of killing terrorists. Most people aren't all proud and excited to kill other people

 

[vonGarvin]

OK.  Thanks

 

[jimb]

Trying to keep to the thread topic.............

.Anybody see the difference in attitude/actions  betwwen the Dallas Swat guys and the Toronto ETF members?  Seems to me that the Texas cops don't have much regard for property when they rip a house apart using tow straps and their armoured trucks to  remove doors and window bars, only to find the target house un-occupied. Who pays for that damage to a private home?  I wonder how much the Dallas Police deprartment has paid out for that kind of blunder.

My expereince with the ETF has been very positive, and they are pros, who are carefull in how they act . Their record over the years is enviable.

JimB. Toronto.

 

[MP 811]

I think you have to keep in mind that there are different mindsets involved when comparing the two.  When we talk about the ETF, or any tactical team per say here in Canada, there is a certain secrecy to them.  Plain and simple, we dont advertise what they do, what they carry, where they train, what they look like.......................etc, etc....

So when a tac team gets activated in Canada and show up on scene, the general public is either really impressed or scared shitless, depending on what side of the team your on.  People tend to be in awe when they see something that they know exists but have never seen in action in real life.

In the States, there have been so many movies/tv shows/news depicting SWAT stuff, that people have become immune to it.  Lets face it, most movies depicting this type of thing has cowboys going into buildings, shooting the place up, tearing the place down......whatever you like.  reality, unfortunately gets blurred and people get stupid, SWAT has to take that into consideration and up the stakes in order that the members of the team go home at night.  And thats the bottom line...................going home at the end of your shift.  Also consider that almost everyone has a gun.  Makes for uneasy activations if you dont have the upper hand intel wise.

And before you say it, yep, we are bombarded with the same images on tv as well, but I think, and its only my own opinion, that because our guys are not in the public eye on a daily basis, and had hollywood movies made out of them, we have the upper hand.

Either way, when SWAT/ETF/TRU/ERT.........whatever shows up....your in a world of hurt!

 

[zipperhead_cop]

Anybody see the difference in attitude/actions  betwwen the Dallas Swat guys and the Toronto ETF members?  Seems to me that the Texas cops don't have much regard for property when they rip a house apart using tow straps and their armoured trucks to  remove doors and window bars, only to find the target house un-occupied. Who pays for that damage to a private home?  I wonder how much the Dallas Police deprartment has paid out for that kind of blunder.

Just because a place is empty does not mean there was a "blunder".  It means the criminals were not there.  There is an awful lot of info that goes into getting a search warrant, and you don't do a door kick for giggles.  As far as damage goes, the criminal is responsible for his own damage.  If the place is a rental, a land lord can apply to the Criminal Compensation Board. 
If the door has to open, it has to open.  If you see a AFV plowing through the front, the place is probably fortified.  Using a "key" (door smashing device) will not always work.  Sometimes, depending on if there is info on guns and bad guys, and explosive entry is authorized.  Then you use shaped charges to make your own door in a wall and go in. 
Just think of it as COPS meets Extreme Makeover-Home Edition, minus the overjoyed people at the end. 
Funny, nobody complains when the bucket boys demolish their digs because they had a stove fire. 

 

[The_Falcon]

Trying to keep to the thread topic.............

.Anybody see the difference in attitude/actions  betwwen the Dallas Swat guys and the Toronto ETF members?  Seems to me that the Texas cops don't have much regard for property when they rip a house apart using tow straps and their armoured trucks to  remove doors and window bars, only to find the target house un-occupied. Who pays for that damage to a private home?  I wonder how much the Dallas Police deprartment has paid out for that kind of blunder.

My expereince with the ETF has been very positive, and they are pros, who are carefull in how they act . Their record over the years is enviable.

JimB. Toronto.

You also have to keep in mind that like the show "COPS" the producers of Dallas/Kansas City/Detroit SWAT get to cherry pick which calls are going to go to air and which are not.  Think about which call is going to make for better tv, the armed stand-off that is peacefully resolved with subjects giving up (like on the W5 episode), or ripping the side of a house off to gain entry?  I am sure if camera crews followed TPS ETF around  24/7 they would get thier share of highly charged calls, as TPS ETF do have armoured vehicles at thier disposal.  I also think MP 811 is on to something as well.  SWAT has been over hyped in the US, and the bad guys are starting to learn thier tactics and techniques and adapt to them.  Thats part of the reason you see the Dallas SWAT guys ripping the doors off, because the bad guys have fortified the doors and windows to prevent the SWAT team from using a battering ram.  There was even a instance where the front door was a fake, and the mintute the ripped it off the found another door right behind it.

 

[medaid]

Nanana Nanana Nanana Nana NAAAA *SWAT Theme*

I'm sorry for posting before seeing it...but where can I get a hold of a copy or something? I want to see it I think it'll be a interesting look into the TPS ETF and not because of the 'glory' factor that some here seem to enjoy without thinking.

I have to agree with the drastic difference between the attitude towards US SWAT and our ERT units...its just we dont (on average) see that many of those fine members out in force and "bashing" down doors. Heck I get kinda nervous when I see the RCMP chopper floating around my neighbourhood, and I live in a very safe and nice neighourhood. The mystic factor is definetly present with our members in any police service. I think we're just over all a 'safer' country then the US. We dont BOAST our crimes and show them on prime time television as much as we can. I think it helps the members  that extra shock factor as the bad guy's watching his own place being busted in on TLC  ;D

 

[R933ex]

The link at the start of this thread leads you to an online version of the episode.

http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20061130/wfive_noescape_061130/20061202?hub=WFive

 

[medaid]

many thanks! should've looked... :