Delco SWAT Teams Take Part In Training Competition
DELAWARE COUNTY, PA (CBS) -- More than a hundred Delaware County police officers went head to head in a SWAT training competition on Thursday, testing their skills, accuracy, and time in high risk scenarios.
Three teams: Haverford, Upper Darby, and Central Delco competed in tactical and training exercises.
"What we have are the long gun, the sniper competition, the hand gun, and the officer down competition," which includes entering a heroin drug den, explained Tim Boyce, the county's Director of Emergency Services.
Boyce says, with help from county tech students acting as drug dealers, each team goes through this all too familiar scenario.
"Now they are faced with the carfentanyl and fentanyl and making sure they are responding appropriately to protect themselves, their K-9, and to treat the people that are down and possibly overdosing in the building," he said.
SWAT officers train once a month, ready for any situation that may pop up.
"Officers go through a basic SWAT school, and they are to get trained on the different weapons, tactics, entries, different movements to go in to a room to take suspects into custody for higher risk stuff that is beyond a patrols capability," explained Sgt. Craig Scott.
Points are based on timing and marksmanship.
"It is important to have these types of teams so that if something goes on, we are readily available, we can respond in a very quick timely manner and we can address the issue at hand," said Scott.