This person was issued congratulations for getting the job and set of keys. His or her training started when an inmate decided not to comply. TAC saw this need from the beginning and worked with the Sheriff or Chief in each department to at least put aerosol sprays on their entire staff not just patrol.

In 1992 TAC furnished chemical weapons to the Shelby County Sheriff’s Dept. SWAT team who very successfully used it to stop a large riot in the jail. The county who had always used the enforcement SWAT team at the jail now decided to start a jail Detention Response Team.

TAC was involved in training this team in use of chemical weapons for tactical use. Following that TAC started getting more departments to send Corrections personnel for Chemical Weapons Instructor training instead of just sending Patrol officers.

In 1995 TAC started conducting full training for corrections special operations teams. These teams were named many things such as SORT Special Operations Response Teams, DRT Detention Response Team, ERT Emergency Response Teams, CERT Corrections Emergency Response Teams just to name a few.

TAC’s training can offer advanced training to existing teams or start from scratch and help qualify officers plus training a new unit. The training primarily consists of forty hours basic as well as an additional 12 to 24 hours for the team leaders. This training can be done on sight for large teams or hosted by a facility where team members from smaller surrounding departments can attend.

This training has now been done for departments such as Jefferson County Sheriff’s Dept. in Birmingham ,AL., Davidson County Sheriff’s Dept.. In Nashville, TN. Montgomery County Sheriff’s Dept., Montgomery, Al., State of Alabama Department of Corrections (all facilities), Shelby County Sheriff’s Dept., Memphis, TN. to name only a few.

The goal of any corrections facility and that of the team is Safety and Security of officers as well as inmates. SORT training as we refer to it requires a great deal of physical endurance. Officers will be dealing with non-compliant inmates of unknown size and physical strength. Therefore, they must deal with this through training and practice.

TAC training starts with physical fitness testing followed by hours of physical runs and workouts. Additional training includes, Team Missions, Use of Force, Tactics and Techniques, Communications, Subject Control Techniques, Restraint Techniques, Body Searches, Defensive Tactics and most importantly Cell Extractions.

Cell Extractions can be a very dangerous time for both the officers and the inmates. There are many things that can go wrong and many ways to get injured. Proper equipment and execution of this action is very important. TAC training includes extensive training on Team Formation, Team Member Identification and Responsibility. Training covers Static, Fluid and Dynamic entry. Tactical chemical use of aerosols during an entry can reduce the risk with most inmates.

Deployment of Aerko sprays prior to entry can many times stop the need for a forceful extraction and certainly reduce the risk of injury during the movement.

TAC began training schools in 1992 as a Master Distributor for Aerko International. The main philosophy of this training is that one instructor can not be an expert or current on every subject. There were and still are several people throughout the country conducting schools by themselves teaching as professionals on all aspects of the training. This certainly increases their profit but TAC feels it more important to leave students with the knowledge that they have received current training from someone who has actually performed the task.

The TAC Director of SORT training is Mr. Pete Garza, Assistant Chief Jailer and SORT Team Commander of the Knox County Sheriff’s Department, Knoxville, Tennessee.

Contact TAC for S.O.R.T. training within your facility or Department. CONTACT TAC