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TRAINING
Emergency Services and
Hostage Negotiations
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The tragic events of September 11 showed the whole world the bravery, dedication and sacrifice of the NYPD's Emergency Service Unit (ESU)- the department's combined rescue and tactical response unit. Just as much as courage is a hallmark of ESU, so is exceptional training. No training is more exceptional than the ESU's Emergency Psychological Technician (EPT) class. This five day intensive class is required for both ESU officers and the NYPD's Hostage Negotiation Team (HNT) members.
The EPT course is given in conjunction with New York City's John Jay College of Criminal Justice, under the auspices of the college's Special Programs Unit, led by Dean James Curnin. The program director is Dr. Raymond Pitt, professor emeritus of John Jay College, who teaches the course with Professor Stuart Kirschner and other instructors. Sgt. John Boesch, the ESU coordinator for the program and assigned to ESU's Trunk Nine, said the greatest tool in the entire arsenal of ESU is the ability to communicate effectively.
Program Goals
NYPD policy requires that ESU personnel and a patrol supervisor be initially assigned to respond to all calls involving a person with mental illness who must be taken into protective custody-officers must reasonably believe that the person is acting a way that is likely to cause serious injury to the person or to others. ESU personnel respond to many such calls each year. HNT also responds to numerous situations involving persons with mental illness.
The vast majority of persons with mental illness are not a danger to themselves or to others; the vast majority of police encounters with them are uneventful. However, there have been cases in which NYPD officers and persons with mental illness have been injured or killed. The purpose of the EPT class is to maximize the safety of persons with mental illness, other members of the public and responding officers, and to help officers to deal sensitively and effectively with persons with mental illness.
The assistant coordinator of the EPT program at ESU, Officer Anthony Favara of ESU's Truck Six, said that a key goal of the class is to afford ESU personnel additional tools to complete a safe and peaceful resolution of a situation in a...