SAN ANTONIO – On Monday, KSAT spent the day reporting on a 5-hour standoff in east Bexar County that ended peacefully.
After covering that standoff, KSAT wanted to know how those negotiators trained for the tough job.
On Wednesday, the Bexar County Sheriff’s Office gave a behind-the-scenes look at both classroom lessons and a real-life training scenario.
It started when a black car whipped around a corner, followed by a BCSO unit with blaring sirens and lights.
A suspect got out and ran into a building, barricading himself inside.
The intensity felt like a real situation, but it was all just a drill.
As a team of BCSO negotiators carried out the simulation, around 20 students stood watch, taking it in.
The chief negotiator tried to calm the suspect down, talking to him in a reassuring voice, while others stood as backup.
“That secondary or third officer, that’s their job is to keep you safe as a negotiator. Because you’ll get so zoned into communicating with somebody that you, you won’t really be aware of your surroundings so much,” said Lt. Angela Freveletti, who leads the BCSO Crisis Negotiations Team (CNT).
The main job is to build rapport with the suspect in any way possible.
“You have to develop a mini relationship with folks pretty quickly. And it’s helpful to have empathy for what the other person’s going through, no matter where they are in life,” Lt. Freveletti explained.
She’s been on the team for 20 years and said the majority of the time, the incidents end without violence.
“Our job is to try to end it peacefully,” Freveletti said.
BCSO Crisis Negotiator and Instructor Deputy Joel Babb led the drill and stopped to teach along the way.
He spoke from real-life experience. He was one of the crisis negotiators during Monday’s standoff, where after 5 hours of communication, the suspect let his kids go and surrendered himself to deputies.
“We’re not in a hurry. So if we have to go in, we have to spend 4 to 5 hours at the scene a day long. We’re prepared to do that if we can peacefully,” Freveletti said.
Once a year, Freveletti oversees the 40-hour basic negotiator training course, which includes classroom lessons as well as active drills.
The class is for any law enforcement personnel in the region, not just BCSO deputies.
“We have some smaller municipalities, we’ve had federal agencies, state, local, even the military actually join in, attend our basic classes,” Freveletti said.
That continuity in training for law enforcement across the region makes it easier to communicate in times of crisis.
That’s one of the reasons the training can include lessons with SWAT.
On Wednesday, KSAT got to sit in the classroom when a visiting SWAT officer taught the group SWAT positions and terminology.
At Monday’s standoff, BCSO negotiators worked hand in hand with SWAT officers.
Freveletti said she trains with the SWAT team because they end up working together so often.
“We’re kind of the first steps where we try to make contact with the individual because obviously, the best case scenario for us is that everybody comes out safe and unharmed. They train all these special weapons and tactics. They’re absolutely necessary,” Freveletti said.
That’s exactly what happened Monday when all teams worked together, resulting in the best possible outcome.
Members of the BCSO Crisis Negotiations Team have to apply and then try out, but the team is entirely comprised of volunteers.
Team members receive a hazard pay benefit, but are subject to be called out on a moment’s notice in the event of a crisis situation.
“These guys do this on their spare time. Their weekends, their holidays, nights -- they’re on call 24/7 basically to respond. That includes the supervisors. We all do this because we enjoy it and we know the importance of what we do,” Freveletti said.