S.W.A.T. Team

Mission
The mission of the South Snohomish County Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) Team is to respond to high-risk incidents that require specialized training and equipment and attempt to resolve potentially dangerous situations without injury or loss of life to officers, suspects, or uninvolved citizens.

Personnel

South Snohomish County SWAT Bus

The South Snohomish County SWAT Team is a multi-jurisdictional unit with an authorized staffing level of 17 officers, four from Edmonds, four from Mountlake Terrace and nine from the Lynnwood Police Department.

Activity & Accomplishments
Command of the team is assigned to the Patrol Commander of the Lynnwood Police Department. The South Snohomish County SWAT team had an increased level of activity this year as compared to previous years, which resulted in the team’s highest usage since its inception. All of the missions conducted in 2007 resulted in favorable resolutions, with the suspects successfully being taken into custody without injury to officers or the public. Coordination with various units and utilization of special assets, such as the “Bearcat” armored personnel vehicle, were instrumental in operational successes this year.

• The team conducted its week long training cycle at the Yakima Firing range, taught by a nationally renowned tactical trainer who recently retired from the Los Angeles Police Department’s SWAT team.
• The team attended the “Best in the West SWAT Competition” in Santa Clara County, California. They competed with the best SWAT teams of the United States western region, including many large full-time metropolitan teams. The invitational event included hundreds of SWAT operators, competing against each other in various individual and team events. Our officers finished in the top third of all the teams, and our sniper team placed in the top six overall.
• The team attended a local in-state training conference in the Tri-Cities. This conference allowed for team members to attend various training courses, network with other professionals in the local tactical community, and test our team’s abilities against other teams within the state.
• The team served a number of high-risk search warrants in response to requests from the South Snohomish County Narcotics Task force.
• The team responded to an incident involving a suicidal male in Lynnwood who had barricaded himself in his residence and was armed with a rifle. While SWAT team members were deployed on the inner perimeter, the male fired the rifle from inside the residence. The male was taken into custody with no injuries to officers or innocent citizens.
• The team responded to a barricaded suicidal male in Edmonds, who was mentally unstable and had attempted to stab patrol officers with a knife. The team successfully resolved the incident without injury to officers or uninvolved citizens, and the male was safely taken into custody.
• In conjunction with a Mountlake Terrace homicide investigation, the team was requested to serve a high risk warrant on a Lynnwood area apartment. The suspects were violent convicted felons who had served prison time for murder, bank robbery, felony assault, and firearms possession. Both suspects were safely apprehended, and the apartment was secured for Mountlake Terrace police detectives. A large amount of heroin was located within the apartment. The suspects ultimately faced federal charges for trafficking in firearms and drug possession, in addition to the charges relating to the homicide investigation.
• The team commander acquired a “Bearcat” armored personnel carrier via a grant from the Department of Homeland Security. This vehicle is accessible to surrounding Snohomish County SWAT teams, and was deployed in six missions in 2007.
  

SWAT Officers Training