Dynamic entry
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Dynamic entry is a police tactic used when the target of a raid is considered likely to be either armed and dangerous or likely to destroy pertinent evidence if given warning of police presence.
It is also used by military units such as the SAS when carrying out forceful resolution of a terrorist or hostage situation. The dynamic entry is also used if the entry team comes under fire or the opponents are numerically superior.
It contrasts with the normal procedure, which is for the police to knock on the door, identify themselves as police and announce that they are in possession of a search or arrest warrant allowing them to enter the premises, and offer to show said warrant to the occupant(s). Such procedures are far more respectful of the rights of the occupants, but have been ruled as being unnecessary if probable cause exists to suggest that the occupants are armed and dangerous or likely to engage in the destruction of evidence.
In contrast, in dynamic entry the door is generally knocked down or otherwise opened forcibly from the outside and the police enter with weapons drawn. If the door is thought to be reinforced or otherwise unopenable, entry may be effected by making an opening in a wall.
The principles used consist of CQB and a movement techniques of small groups in urban terrain but speed and overwhelming firepower are used along with the use of ballistic shields and distraction devices (e.g. flashbang grenades). Because the speed is mandatory the entry team uses special entry technique that may differ from the normal room entry procedure. When the entry is made there is no time to use any reconnaissance methods (like scanning of the rooms with fiber optic cameras and mirrors) as SWAT teams normally do. If a member of the entry team is under fire, injured, falls on the slippery floor, has a weapon malfunction, etc he reacts mostly defensively, the remainder of the team aggressively advances to neutralize the opponents as quickly as possible.
One of the best-known instances of "dynamic entry" was that of the former Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms at the Branch Davidian's Mount Carmel Center near Waco, Texas in 1993.
