Spotlight: El Segundo SWAT  

“There’s something about your alarm going off at 11:30 pm. It’s just not right.” Lt. Jeff Leyman and most of the 19 members of the El Segundo Police Department SWAT team have to be at the station at 12:30 am to meticulously go over the morning’s operation.

Sergeant Kenny McShane points out why the early hours are so important. “We’re trying to use the element of surprise and we don’t want a lot of people out and about. We don’t want to put anyone at risk in these things.” This morning’s operation is to secure a residence in South Los Angeles so detectives can serve a search warrant for several violent felony crimes. By 7:00 a.m., the team is back at the station where half of them go home to sleep and the other half begin their regular work shifts. “Everyone has another job. This is a collateral duty. We have detectives, field training officers, a motor officer, and a K9 handler on the team. It’s one of the things that makes us stronger,” said Sgt. Ryan Danowitz.

The El Segundo Police Department SWAT team was originally formed in 1983 to prepare for the Los Angeles Olympics. The team started with two sergeants and nine officers but has since grown to 19 members including a commander, two team leaders, 12 officers, and four El Segundo Fire tactical paramedics. Although patrol handles the vast majority of the crimes that occur, every now and then the situation requires more officers with different tools and training.

“That’s what we get in the business for,” says former SWAT Commander Lt. Ray Garcia. “We constantly train for the direst circumstances. We never hope for it, but we are always prepared for it.”

Out of the 17 operations in 2018, five were for event security such as the El Segundo Holiday Parade and the annual July 4^th event. Two operations were for dignitary protection details, where high profile government officials require a high level of protection. One operation was a call-out for a man who threatened to harm his neighbor with a gun and a bomb. Finally, nine operations were for search and/or arrest warrants for crimes such as murder, attempted murder, and assault with a deadly weapon. “While most high-risk warrant operations are mutual aid requests from neighboring cities, those operations keep us sharp and experienced, ” said SWAT Officer Armando Rodriguez.

Lieutenant Jeff Leyman, SWAT Team Commander

Lt. Jeff Leyman grew up as a beach kid here in the South Bay. He had no immediate family members in law enforcement and it wasn’t a job that was ever on his radar. “My friend’s mom worked for a police department and asked if I wanted to go on a ride-along with a patrol officer. I had never even heard of a ride-along, but it sounded like fun when she explained it to me. I had a great time and from that night forward there was no question what I wanted to do.” Twenty-seven years into his career Lt. Leyman still enjoys the work. “In police work, the highs are very high and the lows are very low, but there is no better feeling than helping people out. If I could do it all again, I wouldn’t change much. I definitely would spend my career here in El Segundo. I like nice people, and the vast majority of these residents are really nice.” Lt. Leyman became the SWAT Commander in 2016 and has been involved in 36 operations in those three years.

“The officers and sergeants on this team work so hard to be the best. The hours can be brutal and the training is physical and stressful. But they do it with pride which makes it a privilege to be associated with them.”

Lt. Leyman enjoys the exciting work but admits it can be tiring and it doesn’t get easier as he gets older. “At the end of a busy SWAT week, I look forward to hanging out with my wife and kids and enjoy a gin martini…or two”

Sergent Kenny McShane, SWAT Team Leader 

Sgt. Kenny McShane was hired by ESPD in 1999. Prior to becoming a police officer, he received a degree in Animal Science from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo and worked in the meat industry. Kenny joined the SWAT team in 2001 and is an active member with the most years on the team. He’s held the positions of operator, sniper, scout and has been a team leader for the past seven years. Sgt. McShane said, “I love being involved in the high-risk operations and ensuring they come to a peaceful resolution. SWAT is the second-best spot in the department next to K9.” Kenny hopes to stay with the team until he retires or his aching joints force him off the team.

Kenny enjoys spending time with his wife and kids on his days off and watching them succeed in their endeavors. Kenny also enjoys using his tactical skills in the woods and water, as his favorite hobbies are hunting and spearfishing. Kenny enjoys turning the game he harvests into steaks, roasts, sausage, and jerky.

K9 Officer Alex Leavitt

Ofc. Alex Leavitt has been employed by the El Segundo Police department for 10 years. He has been a police officer for eight years and is currently a K-9 handler and a SWAT scout. Officer Leavitt prides himself on not taking himself very seriously. He has an extreme dislike for running but does it almost every day because it’s a convenient way to work out with two small children. He points out, “Running is a relative term. Some people might not recognize what I do as running. My K9 Roxy considers what I do more of a walk.”

Ofc. Leavitt claims he is often teased for not having seen many classic and mainstream movies. He claims, “People don’t understand that I have very little free time with two small children, a wife who works, a full-time job and I have to re-watch every season of ‘The Office’ for the eighteenth time.” He does enjoy pranks and has been the suspect (and victim) of many. Of note, someone at the department once convinced everyone that Ofc. Leavitt took his own sister to prom. “This is patently false and obvious to anyone who knows me because I didn’t even get to go to prom.”

Joking aside, Ofc. Leavitt is very blessed with a beautiful wife and two daughters who are all very supportive during the long shifts and frequent K-9 and SWAT callouts. He also feels very fortunate to work for a professional department which also has a sense of humor.

Tactical Paramedic/Fire Cpaitian John Gritzmacher 

El Segundo Fire Department Capt. John Gritzmacher can’t get it straight. Does he want to be a police officer or a firefighter? He decided to go with “Option C,” which was both. Although he started his career in the early 1990s as a reserve firefighter and a reserve deputy sheriff, he ultimately chose the firefighter route and joined the El Segundo Fire Department in 1992. But, his past came back to haunt him when in 2005 he was approached by the ESPD SWAT Commander and asked if he would consider joining the SWAT team as medical support. Capt. Gritzmacher jumped at the chance to do something outside his normal firefighter duties.

Since that time, the SWAT Team Tactical Medic Program has grown to four tactical paramedics, all of which work for the El Segundo Fire Department. “We really like the camaraderie between police and fire and we love the ability to get involved in dynamic situations.” Capt. Gritzmacher said the medics were always well received by the SWAT officers but remembers when they realized how important they were to the rest of the team. “We used to wear dark blue uniforms while the officers wore green. The team leader at the time told us to get green uniforms to match the rest of the team.

He said, ‘You're one of us, you need to get some greens.’ That’s when we knew this was for real.”

Capt. Gritzmacher is proud of the skill level and commitment of his tactical medic partners, who train monthly with the team, and then have to train separately because of their specialized functions. He has been married for 20 years and has a 16-year-old daughter and an 18-year-old son.

Sergeant Glenn Delmendo and Detective Jeff Darringer 

Sgt. Glenn Delmendo started his career in law enforcement when he joined the United States Coast Guard. “The freedom is one of the best parts of the Coast Guard. Especially when you command your own rescue boat. We get to help a lot of people.”

In 1996, he transferred from active duty to become a police officer for the West Covina Police Department. In 2002, he lateraled to El Segundo PD and has worked several different special assignments.

“I really enjoyed both departments. I had a lot of great friends in West Covina. The thing is, I’m a family guy and I got tired of the commute and the extra time away from my family. This has turned out to be a great choice.”

Sgt. Delmendo and his wife’s oldest son decided to follow in his footsteps and is currently in the Coast Guard at the rank of Lieutenant. “We all want our kids to do better than us and my wife and I have done it. I am reminded of this every time I have to salute my son.” In addition to his son (boss), his daughter is currently in nursing school and his youngest son recently started his first semester at Cal Poly Pomona studying business. “I’ve been a part of this team for 16 years and I’ve had to deal with long hours and a lot of work on my days off. My wife and kids have been supportive of all of this.”

Detective Jeff Darringer was born and raised in Bakersfield and was introduced to law enforcement at a young age. “My dad and I would watch COPS every Saturday night when I was growing up.” He was immediately hooked and never wanted to do anything else. “Being a police officer is all I’ve ever wanted to do. I consider myself extremely lucky to have landed my dream job and to work for the El Segundo Police Department.”

Detective Darringer has been a police officer for 10 years and has worked a variety of assignments including patrol, motor officer, field training officer, and now a detective. He has been on the SWAT team for over eight years and currently fills the role of a scout and one of the entry team members.

“SWAT is where it’s at! When my phone rings at 2:00 a.m. and it’s Lt. Leyman, I know it’s time to have fun. Being on this team is an absolute blast! The training, the different operations, and the relationships with the other operators is what I love the most.”

Detective Darringer enjoys hanging out with his wife, Aubrey, and plays adult ice hockey in his (limited) spare time.

So far in 2019, ESPD SWAT has been involved in 12 operations and expects at least three more security details before the end of the year. “There is a lot of crazy stuff going on in the world,” said Lt. Leyman. “We can’t do much to stop crazy people if we don’t know what is going on it their heads. But, we can be ready to react and we are. If you see ESPD SWAT around, you are safe.”