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See what's on Iowa's SWAT, bomb detection teams' $1.4 million shopping list

Virginia Barreda, Des Moines Register
·3 min read

Helmet-mounted night vision goggles, gas masks and tactical K-9 harnesses are a few of the items you might see on a $1.4 million shopping list for Iowa's special operations teams.

Last week, the Des Moines City Council approved the Des Moines Police Department's request to apply for a Homeland Security grant on behalf of the dozen weapons of mass destruction/special weapons and tactics and explosive ordnance detections teams across Iowa. The grant is meant to assist state and local governments that prevent and respond to acts of terrorism and other threats.

The Des Moines City Council voted 6-1 to apply for funding; council member Indira Sheumaker voted no. She did not respond to the Des Moines Register's request for comment.

Police and sheriff's deputies in riot gear block protesters from marching onto Interstate 80 during a demonstration in Des Moines on Monday, June 22, 2020.
Police and sheriff's deputies in riot gear block protesters from marching onto Interstate 80 during a demonstration in Des Moines on Monday, June 22, 2020.

The teams will apply for $1.2 million from the 2023 grant program. Another $200,000, also approved last week, will come from unspent 2019 funds, Des Moines police spokesperson Sgt. Paul Parizek said in an email.

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All of the money will be used to replace expired safety equipment and purchase new equipment needed to assist the teams during incidents in low-light settings, according to a memo to the City Council.

"These are very essential protective teams, with very unique equipment needs, and the grants relieve a significant financial burden from the taxpayer," Parizek wrote.

Some of the equipment on this year's list includes:

  • 13 helmet-mounted night vision systems at $9,500 apiece

  • 60 voice projection units with microphones at $665 apiece

  • 51 armored tactical vests for a total of $128,000

  • Seven remote firing devices for a total of $112,000

What do the special police units do in Iowa?

WMD/SWAT teams are trained to respond to terrorist use of chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear or high-yield explosives. There are five across the state: Des Moines, Cedar Rapids, Mason City and two in the Iowa State Patrol.

The teams are called in the "worst of the worst circumstances" when standard tactical teams can't deploy, Parizek said. Police officials said the Des Moines team was deployed twice over the past two years. One situation was an investigation into a person making ricin, a poison naturally found in castor beans.

In Des Moines, the WMD team falls under the specialized unit Metro Special Tactics and Response that responds to critical incidents including active shooters, barricaded suspects and "civil disobedience," according to the city's website. The Metro STAR team, which includes members of the Des Moines Police Department and the Polk County Sheriff's Office, responded to protests after George Floyd's murder in 2020.

Parizek said the use of the special teams units' equipment is "pretty self-explanatory." Gas masks, for example, will protect officers from airborne toxins.

The state's seven EOD teams in Des Moines, Cedar Rapids, Waterloo, Johnson and Pottawattamie counties, the Quad Cities and the Iowa State Fire Marshal are trained to detect, disarm, and dispose of explosive threats, Parizek said.

Police in riot gear show up at that Polk County Courthouse after protesters broke windows during a second night of protesting over the death of George Floyd in Des Moines, Saturday, May 30, 2020.
Police in riot gear show up at that Polk County Courthouse after protesters broke windows during a second night of protesting over the death of George Floyd in Des Moines, Saturday, May 30, 2020.

In Des Moines, the most common are improvised explosive devices such as pipe bombs or old “souvenir” military ordnances that are often found during estate sales, he said. Most are found to be inert.

Two EOD K-9s serve daily at the Des Moines International Airport.

Many of the WDM and EOD teams are staffed with officers from multiple jurisdictions, Parizek added. For example, the Pottawattamie County team has Council Bluffs police officers on board.

EOD teams train a minimum of 24 hours per month, with an additional mandatory 40 hours to meet federal standards. WMD teams train a minimum of 16 hours a month, according to Parizek.

How does the grant process for police work?

The Des Moines Police Department is designated as the state's "pass-through" agency, meaning it prepares the grant and distributes the equipment to teams across the state, he said.

Iowa has received Homeland Security grants to support SWAT and bomb detection teams in previous years, including in 2022, according to the City Council memo.

Parizek said they will get notice of their funding request in the fall.

Virginia Barreda is the Des Moines city government reporter for the Register. She can be reached at vbarreda@dmreg.com. Follow her on Twitter at @vbarreda2.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Iowa's special ops team apply for grant to buy night vision, vests