Viewfinder: Deputies 'Retake' Hotel in Tactical Skills Drill

Two teams of 28 heavily equipped Oakland County deputies in camouflage uniforms stormed the abandoned Barclay Inn on Wednesday morning to simulate "a live shooter response," as a commander described it.

With shouts, blank ammunition, flash-band grenades, automatic weapons, a battering ram and other tactical gear, Special Response Team members crept up dark stairwells, down debris-filled halls, into guest rooms and through a double-locked roof door opened with an explosive charge.

"This is an anti-terrorism exercise," said Lt. Chris Wundrach, deputy commander of patrol services. "We've seen how hotels get taken over in other countries, so we want to be ready."

Though everyone knew it was practice, real-world aspects were present throughout the drill. Participants weren't told how many "gunmen" were believed to be inside. Debris and furniture clogged halls. Rooms with unsafe floors were taped off. Sweat dripped on deputies carrying rifles and equipment pouches as they ran up five flights in helmets, boots, protective vests and safety goggles.

"We're taking the fight to them," Deputy Randy Huston told colleagues during a pre-raid briefing. "Make contact. Engage. Move, cover, move."

Inside, frustration flared briefly, punctuated by occasional curses, when communication gaps arose. "Where's the rest of the team — don't split up," a deputy shouted. "What floor are we on?" another asked at a different point.

Overall, tight coordination and professionalism marked the first assault from two ends of the five-story hotel, . A reporter accompanying one team saw meticulous searches of each room, closet and bathroom on the way to the roof, where deputies portraying bad guys exchanged mock fire with assault teams. Every space was rechecked for hidden threats on the way down.

Moving in military-style formations, squads stationed members at stairways and in hallways to provide cover while other burst into rooms. "Drop off guys to hold positions," Huston had instructed. "Share intelligence via radio."

When a hydraulic ram couldn't provide roof access, small blasting charges were used.

Within an hour, members of the elite part-time unit regrouped in the parking lot, gulped water and wiped sweaty scalps. A head count was taken, as it would be after an actual mission.

Yards away, a front-end loader tore window frames from a two-story annex wing of the 124-room hotel, built in 1958 at Maple and Woodward. In contrast to the military-like parking lt scene, it was a peaceful, ordinary morning for Kroger shoppers across the street. 

Deputies were joined after the first hour by Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard, a Birmingham resident who arranged the drill site after spotting a fence and demolition equipment. He gained access permission from TCF Bank's regional office in Livonia, which foreclosed on the property last year.

"It's invaluable to train at a site like this where we don't have to worry about damage," said Bouchard, also wearing camouflage. "We can't always use explosive force when we drill."

Later Wednesday, the sheriff added, deputies planned to use a window-breaking rake to provide an emergency exit for mock hostages without a risk of jagged plate glass.

Planners had hoped to practice rappelling from the roof to the street using ropes, but safety concerns scratched that portion. "The roof is too unstable, with crumbling masonry at the edges," Wundrach explained.        

Deputies in the county's Special Response Team, soon to be renamed Special Weapons And Tactical unit to conform with the widely used SWAT designation, normally wear patrol uniforms and handle everyday law enforcement duties. They train monthly as a team, though typically not in a dusty, gloomy five-story commercial building.

"We're fortunate to have former military snipers and Army special forces veterans as part of this unit," Bouchard said. In addition to barricaded shooter responses, members are deployed during narcotics raids and to serve high-risk felony warrants.