Show of force crucial to safely grab boy, Reno and police experts say

 BY JOSEPH TANFANI DAVID KIDWELL AND RONNIE GREENE

 When federal authorities finally decided to raid the home of Elian Gonzalez's
 Miami relatives, they came prepared with submachine guns, flak jackets and
 pepper gas.

 But their best weapon was stealth.

 Moving swiftly in the pre-dawn lull of an Easter weekend, dozens of federal agents
 battered down doors, brandished guns at the people inside, grabbed the boy and
 drove off -- even before many protesters fully realized what had happened.

 The haunting image of a gun-wielding agent reaching for the terrified boy enraged
 the Cuban exile community. The gun was not pointed at the boy, and the safety
 was on.

 ``A tragic and disgusting display of power,'' said Kendall Coffey, a former U.S.
 Attorney who now represents the Miami relatives.

 Ron McCarthy, a hostage expert and former Los Angeles Police SWAT team
 member, said police are supposed to use heavy force only under certain
 circumstances: if the targets are armed, holding someone against their will, have
 histories of violence or if the house is heavily barricaded.

 ``If they didn't have that, what they did was way out of line,'' McCarthy said
 Saturday.

 But the tactics were defended by Attorney General Janet Reno, federal authorities
 and police experts who described the Elian raid as a textbook police tactical
 operation.

 Reno said she had received information ``there were guns -- perhaps in the crowd,
 perhaps in the house.'' And people outside the house had suggested ``that they
 were going to prevent it [the boy's transfer] from happening,'' she said.

 Once federal officials made the decision to stop negotiating and grab the boy,
 several police experts said, federal agencies had little choice but to go in the
 house with a substantial show of force.

 ``I think that the ideal way to take him was to have a few detectives or INS agents
 in plainclothes go to the door and get him,'' said Gainesville Police Sgt. Ed Van
 Winkle, who teaches law enforcement officers how to safely enter homes. ``The
 problem is, that would be impossible, because there was so much potential for
 violence.''

 If federal agents tried to take the boy without force, and failed, the next attempt
 would become vastly more dangerous, experts said. By telegraphing their
 intentions, the government would lose any chance at surprise and would likely
 meet much more resistance.

 ``The night shift of [demonstrators] has gone home, the day shift hasn't come out
 yet,'' said Clinton Van Zandt, former head of the FBI's hostage negotiation team.
 ``The government had to seize that moment of opportunity. They went in from a
 tactical standpoint with everything going for them.''

 In her office Saturday afternoon, INS Commissioner Doris Meissner defended the
 level of force as ``entirely appropriate for the risky endeavor that this was.

 ``Remember, the family had always said they would open the door and stand
 aside while agents came in,'' Meissner said. ``That is not what happened.''

 Agents were even ready if a Rottweiler next door was set loose. They came with a
 tranquilizer gun that they never used.

 Federal authorities were worried. For weeks, teams of surveillance agents had
 been hearing reports about guns in the house and nearby.

 One report said weapons were being stockpiled in a house in the rear of the
 Miami relatives' home. To be safe, Miami police and federal agents on Friday
 quietly arrested two men who lived in the house on immigration charges.

 No weapons were found.

 Federal authorities in Washington quietly began assembling a team in South
 Florida last week and began training for what they called Operation Reunion. The
 preparations were even kept quiet from top federal authorities in Miami, who
 learned of them Friday evening: they were told to assemble at FBI headquarters in
 North Dade for a midnight briefing.

 ``We were stunned,'' one federal source said.

 From the beginning, U.S. Attorney Tom Scott had argued against a forced entry
 of the Little Havana home, citing the potential for violence. By the end, Scott was
 resigned to the raid, sources said.

 By Thursday morning, federal authorities had decided on Saturday as a preferred
 date. Late Friday, as negotiations stalled, they agreed any raid had to occur
 before 6 a.m., when traffic signals stop flashing yellow and begin presenting traffic
 obstacles for getaway vans.

 By 4 a.m. Saturday, U.S. Marshals had already closed off Interstate 395 leading
 to Watson Island and the avenues leading into Little Havana, the route the vans
 would take. A helicopter was waiting on Watson Island.

 A federal force of 131 immigration agents and 20 U.S. marshals assembled at FBI
 headquarters.

 Among them were 53 INS agents assigned to surround the house and guard the
 perimeter; an eight-member Border Patrol Tactical Unit, the agents who led the
 charge into the house; and one female Spanish-speaking INS agent in
 plainclothes coached to grab the boy and start reassuring him even as she was
 running to the van.

 Others were assigned to traffic control and security duty at Watson Island and
 FBI headquarters.

 The caravan of unmarked vehicles -- three white vans, four sport utility vehicles
 and two pickup trucks -- turned onto Northwest Second Street at about 5:15 a.m.,
 their windows rolled up. Riding in the lead van was Miami Police Assistant Chief
 John Brooks, to make sure the group could get through the police barricades.

 Agents were aggressive in securing the scene, ordering bystanders to the ground
 and immediately dousing protesters with pepper spray. One man who tried to
 step in front of the front door was dropped with one punch by an agent.

 People inside the house locked the doors when they heard the agents were
 outside; agents rammed them open and rushed inside, guns pointed at the
 relatives.

 The weapon wielded by the agent who grabbed Elian is German-made Heckler &
 Koch 9mm submachine gun with a 30-round clip and laser sight -- standard issue
 for tactical teams. Following the textbook, the safety was on and his finger was
 near but not on the trigger, experts on police tactics said.
 Those experts say intimidation is a standard part of the procedure.

 ``Those Border Patrol agents are not negotiators. They're there to ensure a strong
 tactical presence. Their job is to be strong, say it strong,'' Van Zandt said.

 ``You want to get that boy, get out of the house and get on the road before the
 element of surprise is lost.''

 Herald translator Renato Perez, and staff writers Frances Robles, Tyler Bridges,
 Carolyn Salazar and Frank Davies contributed to this report.