Snipers provide silent, unseen protection

They’re the chameleons of the Florence County Sheriff’s Office Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) Team.

Their job is to remain unseen and unheard unless all possibilities for a safe and happy ending are exhausted. And at that point, their only noise is a single gunshot.

“A lot of people think we’re a bunch of gun-slinging cowboys, but that’s not the case at all,” Florence County Sheriff’s Lt. Keith Lutcken, who leads the sniper team, said.

“Whether you’re on the sniper team or the entry team, no matter what your role is, our main objective is the preservation of life. We’re here to save lives,” Lutcken said. “The purpose of a sniper is not to come out here and kill somebody. No matter what you see on TV, that’s just not the case.”

Law enforcement snipers differ from military snipers in many ways, including their areas of operation and tactics. The sheriff’s office sharpshooters are part of the SWAT team and usually take part in relatively short missions such as hostage scenarios. Florence County’s snipers often are deployed alongside negotiators and the SWAT entry team, which is trained for close quarters combat. As law enforcement officers, they are trained to shoot only as a last resort when there is a direct threat to life.

“What we try to do is slow things down and gain control of the situation,” Lutcken said. “That’s why you see negotiations sometimes last so long.”

Much of what a sniper does is collect intelligence and information. The sniper observes from a distance and reports information gathered during surveillance. Getting into a position to complete that observation is key to the sniper’s role.

“Their biggest defense is invisibility,” Florence County Sheriff’s Capt. John Crouse said. “Snipers move in slow, methodical motions to not draw attention to themselves. One of the sniper’s greatest weapons is the ability to blend in.”

Snipers often use camouflage clothing to blend in. But sometimes, in cases where they need to hide in a field or brush, they a special ghillie suit, which is a type of camouflage clothing designed to resemble heavy foliage. Typically, it is a net or cloth garment covered in loose strips of cloth or twine, sometimes made to look like leaves and twigs, and augmented with scraps of foliage from the area. Snipers use the suit to blend into their surroundings and conceal themselves from enemies or targets. The suit gives the wearer’s outline a three-dimensional breakup, rather than a linear one. When manufactured correctly, the suit will move in the wind in the same way as surrounding foliage.

“When a suspect is looking out, you don’t want them to be able to say, ‘Hey, there’s a rifle,’” Crouse said. “With these suits, they just blend in and disappear.”

Once in position, snipers work in teams. One person is “on the gun” while the other conducts surveillance. The two rotate positions, usually every 30 minutes. Sometimes, the sniper team is forced to lay in the woods for several hours.

“And it’s not always a pretty day outside,” Florence County Sheriff Kenney Boone said. “They’re out there in hot, cold, rain, sleet ... it doesn’t matter. They never know what elements they’re going to face when a call comes out. That’s why they train for all of it. These guys are prepared for anything.”

Law enforcement snipers typically operate at much shorter ranges than military snipers, generally less than 150 yards. But the Florence County Sheriff’s Office snipers train at much greater distances, often 200 yards and as far as 500 or 600 yards. The sniper team trains at least once a week.

“We train as often as we can to maintain our proficiency in case a situation ever calls for us to take a shot,” Lutcken said. “If we have to take that shot, we’re going to have to be a little more trained and precise. Sometimes, one of us might be having an off day, but we just do it until we get it right. Because you can’t have those off days on a call.”

Editor’s note: This  is the second in a three-part series on the Florence County Sheriff’s Office Special Weapons and Tactics Team. Sunday’s report offered an overview of the team, while Tuesday’s will focus on the blooDhound unit.