The NYPD’s SCUBA Team is one of the most elite, highly-trained dive teams in the world. The unit serves the entire city, not just the New York City Police Department (NYPD). They also assist federal agencies, such as the FBI, NTSB (National Transportation Safety Board) and the US Secret Service, with operations and investigations.
Currently, the NYPD SCUBA Team has 30 active divers and three administrative staff members.
“Many public safety divers, myself included, have turned their passion into their profession,” said NYPD Diver Detective Guida. “But it takes serious work and dedication. It’s not the checkout dive you did years ago in a quarry or a wreck dive on a tropical vacation. This is serious business, especially in the often treacherous waters around New York City.”
PADI Instructor Mike Guida has been a member of the NYPD SCUBA Team for more than 12 years. He is a team leader, trainer, dive boat pilot and equipment maintenance tech for two squads. Detective Guida also helps develop the rigorous training that defines the unit.
NYPD SCUBA Team Requirements
To apply for the NYPD SCUBA Team you need:
- An Open Water Diver certification
- Two years of active diving experience
- Two years working street patrol
But that’s just the beginning. There’s also an 11-part fitness test that includes:
- Running 1.6 km/one mile in less than 6 minutes 48 seconds
- Swimming 457 meters/500 yards in less than 12 minutes
- Swimming 22 meters/25 yards underwater
- Swimming 45 meters/50 yards wearing a 5 kg/12 lb weight belt
- 20 minutes treading water with hands out of the water for the first 3 minutes
- 50 sit-ups in two minutes (nonstop)
- 32 push-ups (minimum)
- 12 chin-ups (minimum)
- A scuba skills assessment
- A stressful environment evaluation
Each skill is tested one after the other. Approximately 80% of applicants fail.
“Our test is known as the hardest physical entrance test of any unit in the NYPD,” said Detective Guida.
Once selected, divers undergo approximately eight months of intense training. In addition to learning how to use special equipment, every team member becomes a certified EMT. The training prepares them to respond to just about any emergency in and around New York City’s waters.
NYPD SCUBA Team Dive Equipment
Standard equipment includes an Interspiro Divator™ AGA Full-Face Mask, Viking™ Drysuits and Wing Style BCDs. All equipment is certified for use in hazardous material (HazMat) conditions and extreme environments.
The team also uses specialized equipment, such as:
- Ice rescue gear
- Metal detectors
- Sonar
- Diver deployment vehicles
- Remotely operated vehicles (ROVs)
- Hurst underwater extrication tools
The NYPD SCUBA Team also has a customized Bell 412 helicopter for its Air Sea Rescue program.
“We have a harness designed to compensate for the extra weight of our dive gear when hoisting in and out of the helicopter,” Guida explained. “We also have a custom-made seat that can accommodate our dive tanks. It was designed by Bell Helicopters and had to be certified by the FAA. These two pieces of equipment enable us to deploy in full scuba gear from the helicopter.”
“We are the region’s only helicopter deployment rescue swimmers,” Detective Guida added. “We cover the East Coast between US Coast Guard bases from Atlantic City to Cape Cod. Two team members and a helicopter are on standby 24/7, 365 days a year.”
A Day in the Life of the NYPD SCUBA Team
The day starts early. Boats are fueled and prepped. Dive gear and other equipment are inspected and serviced. The team gears up and reports for duty.
“Out on patrol, there could be an array of dive assignments awaiting us,” Detective Guida said. “Water rescues, salvage operations, counterterrorism dives, evidence searches or body recoveries.”
Each team member rotates between diving and surface support duties throughout the shift. The team also makes time for drills to maintain skills and train new recruits.
Notable Assignments
The NYPD SCUBA Team recovers items large and small, from phones and guns up to vehicles and aircraft.
“Sometimes we find more than anticipated,” Detective Guida said. “In one instance, we were asked to recover two or three stolen ATMs. We found and recovered seven.
“In another case, we were asked to recover six guns. The team members surfaced with six guns, but only three of them were the firearms we were looking for.
“One of the team’s proudest moments was when we successfully recovered evidence related to the murder of NYPD Detective Randolph Holder,” recalled Guida. “The team worked around the clock, diving at slack tide in the Harlem River. Multiple teams located and mapped out the evidence in the underwater crime scene after the perpetrator attempted to conceal the evidence.”
The team conducted approximately 60 dives, covering an area of about a football field. Despite diving in zero visibility, the team managed to find the firearm, magazine and bullet casings thrown into the water by the perpetrator.
Public Safety Diver Training
“We are always looking to further our knowledge and training,” Detective Guida said. “Even though being a member of the NYPD SCUBA Team should be accolade enough, we are in the process of getting many of our members credentialed as PADI Public Safety Divers and Advanced Public Safety Divers.”
For Detective Guida, the NYPD SCUBA Team has been a rewarding career, “especially when you’re making a difference, being someone’s lifeline in a dire situation or providing closure to a victim’s family.”
Guida says the skills and experience he’s learned through his work on the SCUBA Team have given him the confidence to dive in nearly any situation. Adding, “Diving on vacation is almost too mundane…almost.”
