To take down the most violent criminals, the Miami Dade Police department turn to their special Response Team known as srt. Calvin sync srt responds to any situation that regular units on the road cannot handle. When they run into trouble, they call us. We are the last line of defence. Narr its the beginning of the day at Miami Dade Police department. Sergeant manny malgor leads one of the three highlytrained units that make up the special Response Team. Man sync sarge. Man good late afternoon. Why am i here early, sir, and youre not . Narr mannys boss, lieutenant calvin james, is srts overall commander. Mannie sync how are you doing . Everything good . Good job last night, by the way. Calvin thanks, you too. You too. Excellent. Narr with Violent Crime ever present, the city is becoming increasingly dependent on its elite police unit. Calvin sync the reason why miami dade has chosen to use srt to execute most, if not all narcotic search warrant, is because of the propensity for violence that comes with the field. Usually when you deal with, with dopers, they believe in violence. They survive through violence. Theyre all armed. So instead of sending, or taking the risk of sending a regular detective or Police Officer to these places to execute these warrants, the leaders of the department understand that it will be responded to in, in the appropriate fashion. Narr illegal weapons have become an epidemic. In response, Police Combat units like srt, need to equip themselves with the latest weapons and body armour. Mannie sync this is our bulletproof vest. Its got level three protection, which means itll stop rifle fire such as ak47s and sniper rifles. This is our diversionary device, also known as a flashbang. Delivers an intense flash of light and a loud noise. Its used to divert the attention away from the entry team, and its also used to temporarily stun the subject. This is our 9mm handgun which is a secondary weapon in operations. A lot of the houses in miami dade are fortified with iron bars, security bars. Team leader will come up to the door, wrap the hooks around, give the signal to the driver, and the doorll rip right off. This is our halagon bar. We put this in the gap of the door, pry the door open. This is a 15pound sledgehammer. This is our breaching shotgun. Got a serrated muzzle. Basically the breacher comes up to the door, places the muzzle right up against the lock and blows the lock off. Next is our 223 car beam. Its our primary entry weapon and it can also be used as a sniper weapon. This is our 40mm multilauncher, also known as a gas gun. Itll shoot six rounds at one time, and its used to deploy either chemical agents or beanbag rounds less lethal munitions. This is our 50 cal sniper rifle. Its a very powerful weapon. Its used for longrange hostage situations. This is the round that it fires. Its got a maximum effective range of just over a mile. Police and miami guards are on the hunt for the gunman who sent five people to the hospital. Investigators say shots were fired late last night near ne 22nd avenue and 183rd street apparently after an argument. Five people including a sixteen year old were shot and transported to the hospital in stable condition. If you have any information about the shooting call Miami Dade Crimestoppers at 305471tips. Narr a week after the mass shooting, srt have been tipped off as to the whereabouts of the fugitive gunmen. Melvin gonzalez unit ten wait patiently for the goahead to arrest them. Melvin sync weve, weve been waiting here for about three hours, waiting to get the search warrant signed, or for detectives, for that matter, to get the search warrant signed, but i mean sometimes we have to wait, we have to wait every day. All the legal aspects of it have to be done the right way, and then when we get the word, thats it, we get to the, were straight to business and we dont skip a beat. Narr after five hours, the squad has been given the goahead to make the arrest. They must prepare themselves to take on gangsters willing to shoot on sight. Melvin sync ive had the misfortune of being present while two of my comrades have been shot in the line of duty, and, and there is somewhat of a sense of helplessness, because obviously the, the act is done youre, your partner is injured, and then everything after, everything that occurs after that isnt going to make him whole immediately. Narr from Police IntelligenceTeam Leader Sergeant burt perez briefs his unit on the suspects, the target address, and their plan of attack. Burt sync this subject right here is a gang member here in Miami Gardens. They have somebody else in custody already that was the driver, go ahead and pass that around. Nickname jojo, six feet tall. Narr these two gang members may only be 17 years old, but they have already shown that they are prepared to kill. I jump out of my skin at people when im upset. Do you share the sense of outrage that theyre doing this, this corruption based on corruption based on corruption. I think thats an understatement, eliot. U im not prone tot. Understatement, so explain to me why that is. I think the mob learned from wall st. , not vice versa. Did you get chips for the party . Nope. Cheese plate . Cheese plate. Nope. I made something better. You used the oven . Boom [ male announcer ] pillsbury crescents. Let the making begin. [ female announcer ] why settle for plain bread . Heres a better idea. Pillsbury grands flaky layers biscuits in just 15 minutes the light delicate layers add a layer of warmth to your next dinner. Pillsbury grands biscuits let the making begin. From silver screens. To flat screens. Twizzlerize your entertainment everyday with twizzlers the twist you cant resist. At cepacol weve heard people are going to extremes to relieve their sore throats. Oh, okay, you dont need to do that. But i dont want any more of the usual lozenges and i want new cooling relief ugh. How do you feel . Now im cold. Hmm. This is a better choice. New cepacol sensations cools instantly, and has an active ingredient that stays with you long after the lozenge is gone. Ahhh. Not just a sensation sensational relief. Narr miamis south beach is a resort that never sleeps. Known as americas riviera, its allnight party scene has lured the worlds jet set. But just ten miles from the bright lights of south beachs impressive skyline is the dangerous area of Miami Gardens. The special Response Team meets, a few miles from the home of two members of the notorious 170 boyz gang, suspected of shooting five people. Both gunmen are just 17 years old, but are armed and highly dangerous. Burt sync its a one storey Single Family home. The premises has a light colour roof, and its bordered by chain link fence. The entry team has got to be mel with the shield, cruise one, flockhart two, majuga three, myself, larry and joe on twos, followed by george casaris. Again, subject involved in shootings and gangs, alright and theyre looking for a weapon in there, alright, and were looking for subjects. Okay . Narr every srt warrant is meticulously planned. With such high stakes, melvin believes that intelligence on their target is essential. Melvin sync in a situation like this, whoever has the most information definitely has more of an edge and more of an advantage. Weve got numbers, weve got the element of surprise, and weve got superior equipment and training. That definitely gives us the edge. Melvin sync alright, easy day guys. Yeah. Melvin sync we have information that hes supposed to be badder or tougher or more dangerous than the average criminal out there, but you know what, you never know whos capable of doing what, and youre always ready, as cliche as it sounds, youre always ready to expect the unexpected. Melvin sync you dont ever want to become complacent, because on the one search warrant that you become complacent, thats the one where godzilla is waiting for you on the other side of the door. Burt sync yo, every days a holiday and every meal a feast lets go eat narr just one mile from the suspects property, the officers disembark from the truck, and jump on to their armoured vehicle, known as the bearcat. Burt sync everybody on . Narr hanging on to the outside struts, the team is able to assault their target quickly. Melvin sync get on the ground. Melvin go, go, go, go. Pull police man police, search warrant. Police, search warrant get on the ground. Man get on the ground. Narr srt systematically searches each room, looking for the gunmen, detaining other suspects they find in the house. Woman sync oh my god, oh my god. Yall didnt have to break the door. Officer. Why you have to break the door open . All you had to do was knock on the door and i would have opened it. Look at all of that. Man my arm. My arm. Sir, my arm hurts. Man hey, sit down on your butt, put your feet out in front of you, cross your legs. Woman oh, my god. Man what . What did they get . Woman oh, the crystal glasses do man oh, man. Woman do you know how long it took my mama to get that . Break the house down. Man okay, okay, alright, we need you to stay calm, alright . Woman now what are we supposed to do . Narr the entry team continue their search for the gangs main gunman, whos finally found in a back room with the ammunition he allegedly used to shoot five teenagers. Woman sync dont hurt him please. Oh god, dont hurt my baby please. Oh god. Melvin sync the job went absolutely as expected. It couldnt have gone any better. Everybodys leaving here with not so much as a paper cut which in my book is a completely successful search warrant, because everybody came in, everybodys going home exactly how they got here, and its actually funny, now that i ponder it, serving search warrants in the neighbourhood that i grew up in, its kind of like a good and a bad, because i mean you come, and youre coming for, youre coming back to your old neighbourhood to serve search warrants on people that are doing bad things, but at the same time you get to reminisce a little bit, and remember the times and the days that you would spend playing kick ball in these very streets. Man sync nice. Man are you happy about that larry . Larry yeah. Perfect. Excellent job. Narr after a successful night hammer man larry reflects on a perfect door breach. Larry sync another win. I feel great. Its a great day, had a nice tobacco, a nice cigar before the warrant, it was a good night. Go home, give the kids a big hug and a kiss, let them know dad got home today, safe, give the wife a kiss and a hug and call it a day. Start another day tomorrow. Narr two months after being arrested, the teenagers still havent been charged, as no witnesses or victims have come forward to testify, even though a reward of up to 50,000 has been offered. Sergeant ray melcon returns from an intelligencegathering operation for a warrant to arrest another member of the 170 boyz gang. Man off in your opinion is there a trend amongst gang members to recruit the younger and more vulnerable . Ray sync yeah, absolutely, the trend has always been for the senior gang member to recruit the junior gang member, because basically theyre doing all the dirty work, and the senior gang members is getting all the proceeds. These poor kids are going into the life of crime, leaving a trail of disaster in their wake, and unfortunately the only time they learn their lesson is when they get caught up in a, in a feud and end up dead or end up in jail. Narr ray believes that the only way to stop the rise of teenage gangs is for srt to employ a zero tolerance policy. Ray sync we need to show the community that we are going to do whatevers necessary to be the knights in shining armour, to keep the streets safe. Were not going to allow any gang member, with whatever weaponry, and whatever preparation they may have, to supersede our authority. I dont care, whatever a gang member or crew brings to the table, i dont care if they bring additional weaponry, or theyve planned for us. We plan for the worst contingency, and were going to come out with success and as winners. Wow ive never seen anything like this. When disaster strikes sometimes the only way out is to look within. Current tv digs deep into the extraordinary tales of heroism determination and escape. Trapped experience the drama. Back to back to back. Hold on mates catch the trapped minimarathon saturday starting at 1 eastern. On current tv. Handling highrisk arrests for most of Miami Dade County an area of over 2,000 square miles. Theres rarely a need for them around the famous south beach. Most of srts work is focused on the rundown districts to the north of the city. In Miami Gardens, one of americas most violent areas srt are being briefed for the arrest of another member of the 170 boyz gang. Ray sync pictures of the structure. Definitely, definitely orange. Were going to go westbound 167th street to 22 avenue, at 22 avenue prior to the traffic light were going to stop, get out of the truck, forward onto the bearcat. Were going to go northbound on 25 avenue, our structure, corner structure at 170 and 25. Joe, once again, once you stop if we need additional help up front, we may have kids. Ill put you out in front as a babysitter so we can dump them off. Alright, guys, lets go, lets beat the rain. Narr as there are children at the property, srt need to walk a fine line. They must hit the house aggressively to minimise their own exposure to danger, but also shield the children from harm. To make matters worse, these alleged gangsters are suspected of having assault rifles. Ray sync well, what concerns me about this job is the, the fortifications, the history of violence and thats actually a gang affiliation. So theres mention about ak47s which even though we always assume that, when they bring it up in conversation its actually more than likely going to be the case, and were hoping that we dont have those kind of confrontations on this one, but were always prepared for the worst. Narr as the weather worsens and the light fades, rays unit climb onto the outside of the bearcat in preparation for their surprise attack. Man off how dangerous is the weather . Ray sync visibility is one. Two is the possibility of lightning in any one of these thunders, and three, manoeuvrability of the vehicles, we dont lost manoeuvrability, somebody else crashes into us or we crash into somebody else. Narr but these treacherous conditions dont seem to dampen rays spirits. Ray sync in every crisis youve got to look for the opportunity. Obviously we feed off the crisis. Cars up front, possible kids in the house. Man car out front. Man opens out. Door, door, door, door. Police, search warrant police, search warrant police, search warrant take it, take it, quick, quick quick, go, go, go. Search warrant get on the ground, get on the ground, get on the ground. Search warrant get on the ground. Its okay. Get em out, get em out, get em out. Narr the First Priority for the officers is to get the women and children quickly out of the firing line, before conducting their search for the suspects. Man sync we havent done a secondary. Man have a seat right down on that step. Hey, hey listen to me. Man keep them over here by the tree. Keep them, dont let them get over by the gate. You got any more . Man you got anybody else left over there . Man let this guy low. Man youve inaudible now . Man yeah. Face down, face down. Narr now that all the suspect gang members are detained, the narcotics detectives begin searching everyone, even the children, who are often used to hide drugs. Miami gardens pd detective Barbara Lee Palmer grew up in a neighbourhood where drug dealing was commonplace. She felt compelled to join the police force. Barbara sync just take her. Barbara sync i have seen family go through that, and thats just, its just not, not where i wanted to be. I myself i was around it, and look where i am now, you know . Everybody is given an opportunity, be it small or be it big, its just what they do with that opportunity that gets them to where they are. I try and give them the speech about if they get caught with this, their kidsll get taken, and maybe theyll think twice next time when they do Something Like this. Unfortunately, you know, 60 or 70 of them dont, and their kids get taken, but its the price they pay. Barbara sync wow. Youre a big boy, how old are you . Four . Wow. Whens your birthday . Barbara sync this is the type of job you cant do if you dont love it. Its very, very timeconsuming very stressful, and 90 of the time people dont say that they appreciate what you do. And you, you have to love it in order to keep coming back every day. Narr after a thorough search of the house, srt and the narcotics detectives eventually find what theyve been searching for. Burt sync we found indications of money consistent with narcotic sales, some paraphernalia, and firearms within the house. Narr the main gang member is charged with possession of firearms and marijuana with intention to sell. The business of drug dealing is often seen as a ticket out of the ghettoes. The drawback is that these criminals will often face srt, who undertake over 300 drug warrants every year. The following day, srts unit ten are back in the ghettoes for another narcotic search warrant. The team wont have far to travel, as heroin dealers are operating out of a house directly opposite the police station. Melvin sync apparently these, these individuals have decided to sell drugs right in front of a police station, which makes them pretty brazen. I mean, theres not too many people that i would think would have enough sense or commonsense if you will, as to deal drugs in front of a police station, so i dont know if theyre really really brazen and brave or if theyre actually kind of dumb. Narr officer Melvin Gonzalez will be first to enter the target house. So he works the shield. Melvin sync this is our shield locker. This is where we maintain our shields. We have different level of shields. This is the standard shield that we use more often than not. The majority of it is consisted of a bulletresistant material got a ballistic glass that allows me to see through it. Its got this Plastic Assembly that houses this light, that ill use to illuminate the path in front of us. In the back of it, its got an apparatus here, its to be held with either the left or the right hand. Its got a switch, on and, an on and off switch here that sends electricity to the touch pad and then when i put the touch pad, it activates, turns on and turns off the light. Its simple technology, 5,000 year old technology, a basic shield. When they threw rocks, shields were made of wood. When they threw arrows, shields were made of metal. Now bad guys throw b