Ausgezeichnet! German Police Share Tactics

German tactical officers train with BA, Tulsa police

BROKEN ARROW -- In sharing some of their respective tactics and knowledge this week, special operations police officers from Germany are establishing lasting ties with area police, officers said.

Members of the Broken Arrow and Tulsa police departments' special operations teams are participating in a five-day training course at Broken Arrow's Police and Fire Training Center.

They are joined by Norbert Tannert, a commander of the Dusseldorf, Germany, police special operations team, and Christoph Glossat, a member of the team.

Officials say the goal is to enable the Germans and the Oklahomans to benefit from each other's experiences in the field.

"When you compare the tactics between teams, there's always something you can fit into your work," Tannert said. "Everybody has experience the others don't have. We do this a lot in Germany. We have good connections to different teams."

Capt. Heath Arning, who oversees training and special operations for the Broken Arrow department, said the local officers are learning new skills from the Germans in defense against knife attacks, for example.

"Our guys have really had their eyes opened on how ill-prepared we were for certain (assault) styles like in-close knife attacks -- things we don't commonly deal with, but which we could," Arning said.

Broken Arrow Police Chief Todd Wuestewald met the Dusseldorf officers last year while he was in Germany to deliver a speech.

Wuestewald "wanted us to start talking," Arning said. "He gave me Norbert's e-mail, and we've been talking back and forth, and that's how we got this set up."

Seven members of Broken Arrow's special operations team will travel to Dusseldorf in September to participate in a special operations competition against teams from around the world, Arning said.

"We do a lot of (special operations) training here, but this is the first time we've brought in anyone from abroad," he said.

Glossat, who has been in his unit for eight years, said he is enjoying his time with the Oklahomans.

"It's always important to see what other units do, wherever they are," he said. "We can learn from each other." That includes learning about each other's cultures. Arning said, "I told them: 'You're in Oklahoma. Everyone owns a gun.' "

Germany has much stricter gun-control laws than the U.S. does, but Tannert said that doesn't mean that his unit doesn't face many guns. "The bad guys still have access to firearms," he said, "and usually the (special operations) team is called only when there's an armed assailant."

Tim Stanley 581-8385
tim.stanley@tulsaworld.com

Source: Tulsa World