SBSO Hazardous Devices Unit can work on land or under water

In a rare combination of skills, the three members of the St. Bernard Parish Sheriff’s Office Hazardous Devices Unit are able to work on land and underwater.

They are, in fact, the only law enforcement agency in the state of Louisiana to become certified in the prestigious Underwater Explosive Recovery Specialist Course held annually in Edmond, Oklahoma.

Currently, of nearly 3000 bomb technicians across the United States, only 250 hold the title of an Underwater Explosive Recovery Specialist.

“This is a source of pride for us to know that in St. Bernard Parish we have officers certified to handle hazardous devices on land or underwater,’’ Sheriff James Pohlmann said. “Our parish is surrounded by water and it’s good to know we can respond to something if need be.”

It is another way in which emphasis on training is helping make the department more effective, Sheriff Pohlmann said.

The three members of the Hazardous Devices Unit are Sgt. Chris Scheeler, commander of the group; Capt. Daniel Doucet and Lt. Stephen Ingargiola. The unit comes under the department’s Special Operations Division, headed by Maj. Mark Poche.

All three members perform other duties in the department but also can be called upon when a suspicious item such as a bag or knapsack is found unattended in a public place and needs to be ascertained whether it could contain an explosive.

All three are also on the department’s dive team that has been used to find evidence thrown in bodies of water in St. Bernard Parish.

Sgt. Scheeler said the intense course in Oklahoma certified the unit as Explosive Divers and to render safe any explosives found underwater. The course also taught very in-depth search patterns that can be used in locating evidence of any kind in conditions of low visibility, he said.

Becoming certified in the underwater explosives training “was a chance to both further our own dive careers and advance the capabilities of the Sheriff’s Office,’’ Scheeler said.

The unit hasn’t been called upon to deal with underwater explosives, Scheeler said. But he said possible uses would be to look for underwater explosives believed placed in the river or other bodies of water, or for collection of evidence such as weapons or for security searches in advance of visits by dignitaries.

Scheeler also thanked the ExxonMobil Company’s Good Neighbor Grant Program for helping to make the underwater training possible.