Washington County Sheriff - SWAT
Keeping our community safe may sometimes mean using a special team of Officers to defuse or resolve a situation. The Washington County SWAT Team does just that with specialized equipment, weapons and tactics.
When The Going Gets Tough . . .
The Special Weapons and Tactics Team (SWAT) is a specialized team comprised of Sheriff's Deputies and Germantown and Hartford Police Department Officers, all of whom operate under the command of the Sheriff. The team was started in 1990 with the main goal of maintaining a high level of preparedness and tactical proficiency to successfully resolve any high risk situation with the utmost regard for the preservation of the lives of all persons involved. The Sheriff’s Office will utilize SWAT to respond to situations in which serious injury or death could be imminent, and where the use of a specially trained tactical team could neutralize the effects of any person(s) actually or potentially threatening the safety of the public. Some of these incidents include:
- Sniper Situations
- Barricaded Suspects
- Hostage Situations
- Dignitary Protection
- Civil Disturbance
- Search & Arrest Warrants
- Armed Suspect
- Narcotics Raids
- Anti Terrorism
- Any situation deemed necessary by the Sheriff
SWAT may also be utilized as a support response to other police agencies requesting assistance in circumstances similar to the above or as deemed appropriate by the Sheriff. We have assisted other agencies including: Germantown Police, West Bend Police, Hartford Police, Slinger Police, Jackson Police, and the Dodge and Ozaukee County Sheriff’s Departments.
Team Profile
- The SWAT Commander runs the team and is the decision maker on SWAT operations during a critical incident.
- The Negotiators on the team support the SWAT Mission by gathering intelligence, establishing communications, and facilitating peaceful resolution of high- risk incidents through negotiation whenever possible.
- Team Leader and assistant Team Leaders are in charge of individual teams consisting of a varying number of team members and are responsible for the tactical deployment of the mission.
- Operators are tactical team members that are given specific job assignments during an operation. Operators may be assigned a variety of different duties. Some of these duties include: shield operator, chemical munitions expert, less lethal operator, distraction device deployment, selected marksmen and entry point breacher.
- The Equipment Technician on the team ensures that all the specialized equipment is in working order so it may be counted on in a time of need.