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SWAT veteran shot officer in raid, police say
08:52 PM CST on Tuesday, March 21, 2006
By JASON TRAHAN / The Dallas Morning News
A veteran SWAT officer accidentally shot a colleague in the leg and probably shot himself in the fingertip during a violent confrontation at a suspected drug house last month, according to a Dallas police investigation.
Sgt. Kenneth Wilkins, 50, a 23-year department veteran, has asked to be removed from the tactical division because of the incident. A separate internal review will determine whether the supervisor violated any police policies.
On the morning of Feb. 16, SWAT officers surrounded a house in the 1200 block of Oak Park Drive in the Red Bird area to serve a Drug Enforcement Administration search and arrest warrant in connection with a suspected methamphetamine ring.
On Tuesday, the department's special investigation unit found that SWAT team members Adolfo Perez and Harry Deltufo were shot in the bullet resistant vest and ear, respectively, by a gunman firing through the door of the home. Both men recovered from their injuries.
Investigators determined that as officers returned fire, Sgt. Wilkins accidentally shot Senior Cpl. Dale Hackbarth in the back of the leg. Cpl. Hackbarth's injury was the most severe but was not life-threatening.
Sgt. Wilkins did not return phone messages Tuesday.
"As with any friendly-fire incident, a thorough review will include an examination of managerial, training and policy issues to see where we as a department can improve our performance and minimize the chance of something like this happening again," said Lt. Rick Watson, a police spokesman.
Deputy Chief Jesse Reyes, commander of the homeland security and special operations division, which includes SWAT, said Sgt. Wilkins is temporarily assigned to communications.
"He has returned to light-duty work," Chief Reyes said. "He's going to offer some input as to where he would like to go, and the department will evaluate those options and take appropriate action."
The department also is examining tactics used in last month's operation, particularly the decision to use a loudspeaker to announce the officers' presence before serving the warrant.
The DEA chose not to seek a "no-knock" warrant that would have allowed the Dallas SWAT team to go into the home with no warning.
Judges can grant such warrants when investigators believe that the people they are trying to arrest or search will try to destroy evidence or that they present an extreme risk.
Authorities had intelligence that the men inside the home, which was surrounded by a tall metal fence, had surveillance cameras and weapons.
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/latestnews/stories/032206dnmetofficer.486fb3fa.html