Indianapolis police shootings highlight balance between safety, cost

Blocking off streets around a SWAT scene does not require the same level of supervisory effort as blocking off streets for a marathon. The span of control metric, like most metrics, is a generalization that does not apply uniformly. People like to think you can put all these factoids and formulas into a manual that someone can just execute, but that's not how it works. Some degree of common sense and flexibility are required to be an effective law enforcement supervisor. They don't teach that in college.