Reasons for application of so called “forced entry” of armed forces can be various. It may be for example arresting of dangerous offender or urgent liberation of injured persons from crashed car, or emergency medical help to people in enclosed space. These are just few of many cases, when it may be necessary to cause an intentional destruction in order to break barrier and get inside at any price. The question may arise – how to do it. In reality even trivial breaking of glass need not be an easy task for everyone.

Too for forced entry

By the forced entry we understand here use of force by police or security officers enabling urgent entering into enclosed spaces. In such cases it is usually necessary to overcome barriers, which often requires damaging of some property. Very responsible decision must be taken in such cases both from the viewpoint of legislation and also from tactical and technical viewpoint. So much for the theory … But the practical execution of such a decision may in real life become rather problematic issue for security officers. How to get in, i.e. means what instruments can law officer use in practice in such situations?

If we leave aside makeshift improvisation, i.e. desperate use of anything at hand (but there need not be anything really usable at hand … …), not many other options are left. If we exclude not very good ideas of breaking glass with bare fist or kicking through it by your leg (which is usually not only unsuccessful, but also logically accompanied by injuries …), we do not have many other choices. If we exclude also rather dangerous (and also non-tactical) use of your gun, one of the most suitable objects at hand is police baton. But here we also may encounter a stumbling block. Majority of police officer is still equipped with already somewhat obsolete coercive instrument – plastic tonfa, defined as “baton with lateral handle”. Apart for its other many imperfections , it is not very suitable for such “breaking” actions, due to its weightiness and resistance. Even the fiercest blows lead with full force usually do not bring the required and sufficiently rapid results. Glass (especially modern car windows) usually in similar cases react elastically and withstand for painfully long time and therefore precious time during security or rescue action is running out. By the time when you finally manage to overcome the obstacle, the tonfa becomes literally unusable - due to deep scratches (see the results at one of the photos below).

Against violent persons and obstacles

Another coercive instrument, which is at present more and more largely used by police forces, has quite different properties. At the beginning, it served only as equipment of some special units, such as SWAT, emergency squads and special security services, later it became used also by air marshals, special snatch squads and some detective units as well. Lately the number of fields, in which these very practical coercive instruments are successfully used, is still expanding. The reason is that expandable baton proves good not only as the most efficient instrument for elimination even of very strong aggressive aggressors, but its use may be more versatile. It need not always be used only as classical coercive means against „personnel“, i.e. for blows or escorting or restraining techniques, but also for many other activities. Its surprisingly high resistance predestines this multi-functional tool also for use as efficient tool for forced entry. High quality steel can help also in tricky situations, which require use of force also against some material. During police actions this may be the case e.g. of necessary breaking of window fro getting into an apartment, rapid removal of car window, or forcing some obstacle by its levering. As practice has already shown in many instances, all this presents no problem for the hardened ESP expandable batons, which remain fully functional even after such manipulations. Similar flash actions can often safe lives at the last moment, or enable the decisive step for catching dangerous criminals.

Special cone

Although the ESP expandable baton itself is already sufficiently weighty instrument, which can be used for breaking of some doors (as it can be seen in documented tests), sometimes even this baton alone is not sufficiently efficient. The reason is that in practice it is often necessary to ensure “a passage” through “hardened material”, such as several layers of glass, glass reinforced by a foil, or the car windows made of the most advanced materials, which have an incredible resistance. During the actions of security or rescue units there is usually no time for repeated blows and efficient results achieved just by one blow are preferred as ideal solution. In other words, to be on a safer side in critical situations. Misfortune of the first blows that just slide off without doing any harm can in case of actions of special units lead to a loss of the moment of surprise. In real life situations this may cause that the “warned” culprit can get hold of his weapon or determined terrorist has time to execute his helpless hostages. For these reasons the experts from several elite units called already for some time for some satisfactory solution. The company ESP after numerous consultations, demanding research and development and many unsuccessful tests finally succeeded in development of special conic head.
The head does not take too much space in holder on the belt or in tactical vest and each officer can easily and quickly insert it on his expandable baton. The head of this “new age mace“ made of hardened steel has in its centre an edge with special angle. The baton with this inserted head can easily overcome even very resistant obstacles. Centrifugal force of this component, placed on the frontal part of the baton, gives an extreme force of penetration to the blows. Officer of special unit can with thus equipped baton reach during the action even high (and therefore not easily accessible) windows of buses or train wagons. Moreover, during actions against adversaries in cars, it is possible to use thus equipped baton (unlike the existing clumsy hammers) immediately after penetration into car in its “classical manner”, i.e. to apply special techniques for efficient removing the person from the car and fix him/her in position for application of handcuffs. This new accessory, as numerous satisfied users confirm, significantly enhanced the possibilities of this traditional ESP product. This sophisticated accessory is for example already included into standard equipment of some elite units, such as army anti-terrorist squads called Special Operations Group. Many other special units successfully test it or already implement it.

The result of police action of arrest can be influenced also by quality of the glass windows. Elite units usually first break the glass structure by one strong blow aimed on the corner. The window is then cleaned from remaining glass by metallic ladder. Steel expandable baton enables realisation of such emergency “forced entry” rapidly and with necessary certitude, especially if it is equipped with the newest hit of the company ESP – special breaking head.

Majority of ordinary police officers have so far in similar situations only very limited possibilities. They can use only the most expanded coercive instrument - tonfa. The tonfa is, however, not very suitable for similar actions – as it is not weighty enough and has insufficient resistance against mechanical damage.

As it can be seen in photos, so called “baton with lateral handle” gets quite damaged after such an action. Afterwards it cannot be in fact anymore used for police service. Breaking the car windows present quite a problem for tonfa and even the strongest hits may not bring the required result.

The repeated tests showed that ESP products made of hardened steel are still functional even after numerous repeated actions. Even the most extreme and almost destructive tests with dozens of hard blows lead by baton against hard materials resulted only in cosmetic small scratches, which definitely did not prevent future ordinary use of the baton.

However, in practice we can encounter also less standard situations when it is necessary to make rapidly a passage even through reinforced obstacle that resists to ordinary batons. The special destruction aid was developed particularly for such specific interventions. This new useful accessory can be carried in special cordura pouch with a clip, which can be comfortably worn on the belt or on the MOLLE tactical vests. With help of this new accessory any officer of special unit can thus easily and rapidly create his own “entering” instrument, which remarkably reminds of medieval mace. This brings about higher tactical operability, especially in case of some unplanned interventions with limited time for preparation of the action.

Expandable baton in combination with this accessory is very practical “doing“, which can be of great help (as it was confirmed by tests) also at emergency rescue of persons from crashed cars. It can penetrate even highly resistant glasses of the most modern vehicles. They have nowadays surprisingly high resistance thanks to their rigid construction or reinforcement by special foil.

Officers of the SWAT team at training of intervention with forced entry into vehicle. Even the reinforced windows of the most modern cars could not resist to this new accessory.

The army already uses the destruction heads already for some time in a standard manner. It is used particularly for special actions of some special units of Military police.

Members of the National Anti-drugs Centre (NAC) of Czech Police at training with this new accessory.

This new “doing” is highly practical aid for detectives from the arresting teams of the NAC for realisation of the similar intervention – it is suitable not only for rapid penetration into locked car of the targeted person, but also for rapid removal of this person from the vehicle and efficient coercion into position required for handcuffing.

Long reach of the baton with the inserted new destruction head can be an important advantage at some anti-terrorist operations aimed against large transport vehicles, i.e. trains, buses, etc. As it can be seen from photos, the intervention can have the necessary speed, which reduces the chances of the opponents’ efficient resistance. The glass cullet in this case does not therefore bring happiness for the “bad guys” …

Mounting on the baton

1. Prepare the expandable baton in open state, take out the ESP destruction head from its transport pouch and pull out the inserted plastic wedge from its centre.

2. Insert the head on metallic part of the baton (narrower part aiming at the handle)

3. Carefully unfold the plastic wedge and then insert it in such a manner that it catches on the broadened ending of the baton (the frontal baton ending must fully enter the internal shape of the plastic part)

4. Afterwards pull the metallic part by an adequate force upwards, so that the plastic part is clamped in the central hole

5. Verify, whether the head is duly fixed on the baton (check it always right before the use of this accessory – blow with baton with loosened components can be dangerous in the vicinity of the action)

Removal of the head from the baton

1. Find suitable hard and resistant support
2. Hold the baton by its handle, with the head aiming downwards
3. Hit the hard surface by the frontal part of the head using appropriate force
4. When the head is loosened, unfold carefully the plastic wedge and take it out from the baton ending
5. Remove the head from the baton
6. Insert the plastic wedge back into the centre of the head,  so that you do not lose it
7. Put the whole set back into the transport pouch