Foreign officials learn from Nassau hostage negotiators

Hours into a shooting spree that left two people dead last month, accused killer Kim Wolfe sat alongside her hostage - her 23-year-old niece - clutching a cell phone and a gun.

Hostage negotiators from Hempstead and Nassau County police spent hours persuading Wolfe to surrender. Eventually, she did and the situation - like every other hostage crisis in which Nassau police have encountered a hostile person since 1974 - ended peacefully, police said.

That record is why Nassau became one of 20 departments nationwide visited Wednesday by about 30 government officials from the United Arab Emirates.

"They are turning to the U.S. to explore methodologies that police use in hostage situations," said Nassau Chief of Detectives Steven Skrynecki, who is also the chief negotiator of its 18-member hostage crisis team.

As part of the lesson to the foreign officials, responsible for counterterrorism duties within the United Arab Emirates, Nassau police emphasized establishing a rapport with the hostage taker or person in distress, keeping them on the phone with the same officer and using equipment to further engage the person.

The foreign officials also got up close looks at equipment used by Nassau's crisis negotiatiors including armed vehicles, mobile hostage command posts, and remotely operated vehicles often used in bomb situations.

"It's a complex science that involves psychological tools . . . and tactical resources," Skrynecki said.

The foreign group's spokesman, Christopher Voss, chief executive officer of the BlackSwan Group, a consulting firm, said the visit was part of a nine-week tour around the country that included police departments in Los Angeles, San Diego, and Austin, Texas. The group will also visit police in Suffolk and New York City.

According to Voss, the United Arab Emirates wants to bolster its counterterrorism efforts because of an increasing number of kidnappings taking place there.

"This is one of the best places for these negotiators to come and get a taste of how Nassau County does business," Voss said.