Setting the hooligan next to the locking mechanism, waiting for partner to strike the tool with the inner door ram. This will force the spike into the stucco.   Striking point for inner door ram. Hooligan breacher will dictate how deep spike goes into wall adjacent to the lock. Hooligan breacher will say, "hit it" until desired depth of the spike. Once he is satisfied, he will tell the ram breacher, "set". Two to three hits should be good enough.   Quickly step back with left foot at same time pull hooligan towards your chest

If you search the Internet for police training classes, you’ll find there are few, if any, manual breaching classes offered. You will find many explosive breaching classes; however, SWAT members are usually the only officers allowed to use explosives to gain entry. So why are there so few manual breaching classes? I don’t have the answer to that question, but my guess is that there are few officers in tactical units that posses the experience to teach the numerous methods of breaching.

There are many tools on the market used for breaching. They were originally designed for fire fighters and later adopted by law enforcement.

Most Common Breaching Tools
The Hayworth, Hooligan  and Ram  are commonly called hook and ram. One officer will set the spike (pointed end) of a Hayworth or Hooligan along side of the locking mechanism and outside of the door frame The second officer who is using the ram for the inner door, will strike the tool at the flat end of the spike. This will penetrate the stucco or wood material approximately two to three inches. The tool is kept parallel to the ground at approximately chest high. Both hands of the officer are positioned palms down, the feet are spread apart and knees are bent. The officer will quickly step back with his left foot pulling the tool towards his chest. The majority of this force will come from the legs, not the arms (more strength in the legs). This will cause the spike to push hard against the locking mechanism, popping the dead bolt and breaching the door.

Once the security door is breached, the officer will step out of the way of the officer holding the ram for the inner door. That officer will strike the inner door next to the door knob, defeating the lock and breaching the door.

Keys to a successful breach on an inner door:

• The officer with the ram must bend his knees and look at the exact location of the strike. The strike should be near the locking mechanism.
• He will thrust the ram with as much force as possible and use his legs for more energy and strength.
• At the point of the impact with the door, he will stop the thrust. This technique would be similar to a boxers jab. Important note: The reason you do not follow through with the ram is because the officer could knock the door in and continue the momentum into the house. This happened to one of our officers and he was shot. The suspect was waiting on the other side of the door with a gun and the officer was holding just the ram. The bullet penetrated just under his vest.
• The officer with the Hayworth or Hooligan will check the door to see if it is unlocked. The officer with the ram will do the same on the inner door.
• Officers will communicate if the door is open, locked or unlocked to insure that all members of the team are properly informed as to the status of the entry. Once both officers have breached the doors, they will follow the entry team into the location.

There will always be a point officer to cover the breaching officers, no matter what technique of breaching is used.