Sgt. Raymond Fanelli remembers the night a barricaded man was firing a shotgun out the window, striking a vehicle with SWAT team members positioned on the opposite side.
The incident, which occurred on either Christmas eve or Christmas day, stands out as an example of a situation that could have had a tragic ending.
“People don’t understand the sacrifice that officers are willing to make for them,” Fanelli said, recalling that he worried at the time that he would have to tell a spouse or parent that their loved one had been killed in the incident. “It could have gone much worse than it did.”
To decelerate the incident, a police sniper shot the individual, who has since fully recovered from his injuries and helps at police negotiator conferences, sharing his view of how similar incidents unfold.
Fanelli, a Philadelphia native and 27-year veteran of the Falls Township Police Department, this year celebrates 25 years as a member of the South SWAT team, which is also comprised of police officers from Bristol Township, Bristol Borough and Bensalem.
Sandwiched between Trenton and Philadelphia, Fanelli notes that the lower portion of Bucks County accounts for 66 percent of crime countywide.
“People have tried to kill police officers,” he said. “We’ve seen our fair share.”
During his tenure on the SWAT team, Fanelli has served in various roles, including team leader, sniper, team member and breacher, the latter of which is charged with tossing a flashbang into a structure once the point person opens the door.
Unlike most people’s perceptions that SWAT teams mean a subject is going to get seriously injured or killed, Fanelli said the exact opposite is true.
“You’re bringing out guys and women that are so well-trained and so well-equipped that they’re able to calm a situation down and bring about more peaceful resolutions,” Fanelli said. “Their training inoculates them to high levels of stress.”
SWAT teams are put in action for hostage rescue situations, especially those involving a weapon or a serious threat of harm, as well as riot situations. Another lesser-known occasion for SWAT teams to assemble includes large-scale events such as Pennsbury High School’s prom. Fanelli and his team were on standby upstairs in the event that their services were needed.
Fanelli and his team have also escorted President Joe Biden with snipers perched on top of buildings for “overwatch” and officers following behind the president’s motorcade.
The son of a K9 officer with the Philadelphia Sheriff’s Department, Fanelli worked as a military police officer from 1992 until 1997. He transitioned to the Military Police Corps’ SWAT team in May 1994.
Fanelli described the military SWAT team and his current SWAT team as an evolution in which he has “seen the tactics change.”
“It went from running and gunning to more of a ‘hey, is it really worth it?’ Let’s wait this out. We’re willing to really be patient,” Fanelli said. “This is like adult chess. Let’s try and figure out what the best solution is going to be for everyone.”
While still in the military Fanelli applied for a position at the Falls Township Police Department. Several years after he joined the force, his brother, Anthony, was hired as a Falls police officer.
The real reward for his service is the “sense of pride” Fanelli gets from undertaking police work and conducting SWAT missions.
“I’m very proud and honored to work with the officers I work with,” he said. “Falls Township has taken care of me. I also hope I’ve taken care of Falls Township to the best of my ability.”
