DAVENPORT, Iowa-- It's something they hope never happens. But when it does, they need to be ready.
"Hands down, our goal is to save lives, no doubt about it, no questions," says Davenport Police Department Lieutenant Greg Behning.
In especially dangerous situations where the suspect could be armed, DPD calls in a special swat team called the Emergency Services Team or EST.
"The vast majority of our operations are warrant services. But we've seen barricades rising up a little bit," says Behning.
EST is made up of highly trained officers with special tools to get the job done with as little harm to the people involved as possible.
"We have a hierarchy. It goes citizens, involved officers, swat guys, and the suspects. We will do everything we can to keep everybody safe," says Behning.
Lieutenant Behning gave WQAD News 8 a behind-the-scenes look at some tools they use that other officers don't.
The theme of the weapons is most of them are non lethal.
"This is an exact impact round. We use it for less lethal operations where we could get some stand off from someone armed with a golf club or a baseball bat that's not a firearm," says Behning.
The powdered pepper spray was shot into a window of the barricade situation on Spring Street in Davenport.
"The idea is to put those substances into the house, make it uncomfortable for them so they come out and surrender," says Behning. EST only gets about one call per week. But the most important thing is to be ready for the unexpected.
"There's a pretty solid law in tactical operations. You never say never, and you never say always," says Behning.