When we interviewed the supervisory park ranger, he told us that sometime after NPS Park Ranger Margaret Anderson was killed at Mount Rainier National Park in 2012, he and his subordinate rangers at MNP were discussing different law enforcement scenarios that they might encounter while on duty, and he felt there was a need to purchase flash-bang distraction devices. The supervisory park ranger said that he spoke with the then-chief ranger, who authorized the purchase of the devices. He told us that the then-chief ranger directed him to contact the Pacific West Region office to see what they had to say about the purchase and use of such devices. He said that he spoke with the law enforcement specialist, who told him that the devices were not prohibited by policy and recommended that the MNP rangers obtain training on use of the devices and develop an SOP. The supervisory park ranger said that he purchased the devices from LC Action Police Supply at a cost of $1,038.
The law enforcement specialist recalled speaking briefly with the supervisory park ranger sometime in 2012 about the purchase and use of flash-bang distraction devices by NPS park rangers. The law enforcement specialist said that he told the supervisory park ranger that NPS policy prohibited rangers at local parks from carrying the devices while on duty. The law enforcement specialist said that he knew that Special Events and Tactical Teams could carry the devices, but he did not believe that they were appropriate for rangers patrolling in the parks.
The NPS firearms program manager said that NPS policy does not address flash-bang distraction devices. She was not aware of any other NPS parks that had purchased the devices. She said that if the rangers at a park wanted to purchase them, they were required to obtain approval from the DCOP.
The second park ranger we interviewed said that he was aware that flash-bang distraction devices had been purchased for the law enforcement rangers at MNP sometime after Anderson was killed in 2012. He told us that he was not aware of any NPS policy that prohibited the devices. He was not involved in the decision to purchase flash-bang distraction devices at MNP, but thought that the supervisory park ranger was, and that the supervisory park ranger had obtained approval from the then-chief ranger.
The park ranger also told us that MNP did not conduct any training on the devices, and as far as he was aware, the devices were never issued to any of the rangers or taken on patrol.
The third park ranger we interviewed said that the supervisory park ranger wanted to purchase flash-bang distraction devices for MNP. She said that she "kind of knew that one wasn't legit" because at one point the supervisory park ranger commented that he did not know how he was able to convince the then-chief ranger to approve the purchase.
She also told us that the supervisory park ranger tried to obtain approval for the park rangers to carry the devices in their patrol vehicles. She recalled a staff meeting where another park ranger and the supervisory park ranger had an argument about the devices, in which the supervisory park ranger told the park ranger that it was mandatory to carry them in patrol vehicles. The park ranger said that she and the other park ranger refused to carry the devices in their patrol vehicles.
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