A Pasco Sheriff’s Office team has been trained to respond to emergency calls involving water rescues, and to search for evidence in lakes, rivers and other water bodies.
The tactical units, called the Underwater Recovery/Swift Water Response Team, includes divers, rescue swimmers and deputies who pilot boats.
“We really can do anything that needs to be done on the water,” said Lt. Jay Galassi, who oversees the Marine Unit.
The 18-member team became nationally certified in November, after completing advanced swift water training through Dive Rescue International.
The certification means the team is ready to serve a wide range of scenarios, from safety and security, to special waterborne operations — even in strong water currents.
Officials say no mission is too large, whether its retrieving cars crashed in bodies of water, rescuing drowning victims, or looking for evidence or weapons underwater.
The certification also allows it to assist in Federal Emergency Management Agency-related response efforts, on a local, regional and national level.
“We could deploy to Texas, we could deploy to South Florida, North Florida, wherever…and then still have a team here that could effectively deal with issues in Pasco County,” Galassi said.
The Pasco Sheriff’s Office began the task of creating and implementing a Swift Water Recovery Team in late 2016 for rescue and recovery operations in areas that frequently flood in the county.
The team initially planned to include just four members who would respond to any swift water event in Pasco County. But, as the process of creating the team evolved, the Sheriff’s Office obtained funding from private citizens allowing the agency to dedicate more than a dozen fully trained and equipped personnel to the team.
The unit has been deployed for several high-profile occasions this year.
For instance, they assisted during Hurricane Irma to provide aid to residents living in flood-prone areas, such as the Elfers community.
They also recovered items and debris from the November plane crash of former Major League Baseball pitcher Roy Halladay.
They also conducted underwater searches in Wesley Chapel in a recent missing persons case.
The team held a training exercise on Dec. 4 at SunWest Park on Old Dixie Highway in Hudson, to practice and maintain its new waterborne skills.
Team members tested three new 12-foot long INMAR inflatable/recovery boats purchased from private community donations.
As part of the drill, they assembled the boats — which involved inflating them and connecting motors — and then they operated them on the water.
They also practiced setting up what’s called a highline, a rope that connects to the boat and is controlled by someone on land. The rope line helps stabilize the boat for rescue and recovery operations in high waters or strong currents.
“We just kind of keep current on getting the speed down of getting the boats out and getting them in the water. The water here is nice and clean, so we just run the boats out here and get the motors all cleaned up,” Galassi said of training at SunWest Park.
The boats, equipped with 25-horsepower Suzuki motors, are designed to hold steady control in all bodies of water, fighting against heavy winds and currents.
They are being used instead of the larger, bulkier boats the team previously used, said Mitch Bollenbacher, a member of the team.
“These are easier to maneuver. They sit very still,” Bollenbacher said. “You can anchor the boat, and then a diver can dive off the back of it. The boats aren’t really affected by the wind or the current. They kind of maintain control in the water.”
Bollenbacher also said the boats can traverse tight-access areas, including lakes, canals and retention ponds — where someone might discard a body, weapons or another type of criminal evidence.
“It’s definitely something that we needed at the Sheriff’s Office,” said Bollenbacher, who’s been with the agency more than four years.
“We can now definitely search an area and say, ‘No, it’s not here.’ You can 100 percent say, ‘There’s no one here, there’s no object here, and we searched it,’”
said Bollenbacher, who is a swimmer and a diver, and has been around the water since he was a teenager.
To be considered for the special unit, deputies must pass a standard test for their water skills.
Even with his skills, Bollenbacher said there’s still trepidation in and around water, with the presence of alligators and other unknowns.
“It’s Florida. There’s always a fear,” he said.
The team takes precautions to stay safe.
“The biggest thing is safety, double-check and use the right equipment for the right job,” Bollenbacher said.
By year’s end, the agency looks to also have its Underwater Recovery Team, or tactical dive team, certified as a specialized unit of the Division of Homeland Security. It would allow the Sheriff’s Office to assist federal task forces in waterborne operations, including: antiterrorism and maritime dignitary protection, drug interdiction, underwater crime scene, special response team support, and maritime surveillance.
Published December 13, 2017
