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4A I DAWSON COUNTY NEWS I dawsonnews.com
Wednesday, August 8,2018
Sheriff’s office reinstates SWAT program
By Jessica Brown
jbrown@dawsonnews.com
When Captain Matt
Hester joined the Dawson
County Sheriff’s Office in
December 2016, he had a
vision to reinstate the spe
cial weapons and tactics
team, or SWAT. Now,
after a year of assembling
the team, Dawson County
has a functioning SWAT
presence for the first time
in nearly 10 years.
“We’re just excited to
have it. It’s a benefit to
Dawson County,"’ said
Sheriff Jeff Johnson. “It’s
a benefit to our people
and now we have the abil
ity to rapidly respond and
assemble a team in hopes
of saving lives.”
Johnson and Hester
worked throughout 2017
to get the program up and
running once more after
previous teams had dis
banded years ago. Both
are unsure why the county
no longer had a SWAT
presence but agreed that
having a local unit is criti
cal for the growing coun
ty.
But setting up a new
team from the ground up
wasn’t an easy process.
Though the DCSO had
some specialized equip
ment like shields and bat
tering rams left over from
previous teams, Hester
still needed to find the
best personnel for the job
along with establishing
the procedures and equip
ping each individual offi
cer with new gear to pro
tect them in dangerous sit
uations.
Officers from other
departments in the sher
iff’s office were eager for
the opportunity to become
SWAT members in addi
tion to their full time posi
tions in the agency.
“I think we did a really
good job pulling some of
the absolute best officers
who have great work eth
ics, who are very driven
and motivated to be the
first members of this new
team,” Hester said.
Candidates went
through a rigorous selec
tion process and had to
complete a physical fit
ness assessment, firearms
proficiency assessment
and pass a psychological
examination along with
successfully completing
Hester’s 50 hour SWAT
school.
After the members of
the team were selected,
the challenge became
ensuring each officer
received specialized
equipment like ballistic
vests and outfitted vehi
cles to be used as mobile
Photos by Jessica Brown Dawson County News
Left, a member of the Dawson County SWAT
team runs up to a stopped driver in a training
simulation during the Junior Law Enforcement
Academy June 8. Above, members of the Dawson
County SWAT team continuously train to keep
their specialized skills sharp so they will always
be prepared for an emergency situation.
'The time that we spend waiting for someone to get here to provide us those
resources, you know, in a SWAT type situation or those critical incidents
where we need that specialized training and those personnel, time is of the
essence.
Capt. Matt Hester
command centers.
Working within the
department’s budget,
Hester and Johnson
looked for ways to ensure
the efficiency of the team
without breaking the bank
by utilizing resources they
already had available.
Among the fleet of
DCSO vehicles were two
vehicles sitting unused
with very low mileage.
They were retrofitted to
be used by the SWAT
team, including an old
ambulance now used as
the semi-command center.
Uniforms, ballistic vests
and other protective gear
was purchased with
seized funds from drug
busts.
And the nine members
of the SWAT team are
full-time officers in the
agency, so when they
aren’t called out for an
emergency situation, they
are still serving the roles
in their departments.
“We have not overex
tended ourselves, broke
the bank, anything, to get
this thing up and run
ning,” Hester said. “We’ve
really done well at operat
ing at the most allowable
resources we could to
fund what we’re doing.”
In the past, Dawson
County has called upon
neighboring counties of
Forsyth, Hall and
Lumpkin to assist with
SWAT situations, but
Hester said he realized
that it wasn’t an efficient
strategy for high risk situ
ations.
“The time that we
spend waiting for some
one to get here to provide
us those resources, you
know, in a SWAT type sit
uation or those critical
incidents where we need
that specialized training
and those personnel, time
is of the essence,” Hester
said. “Lots of times those
particular incidents we
can diffuse those situa
tions a lot sooner if I’ve
got the personnel that
have the proper training
and equipment on the
ground as opposed to
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The primary function of
the SWAT team in
Dawson County will be
serving high-risk warrants
to individuals who pose a
threat either to officers or
those around them,
though the team is also
equipped for barricaded
gunmen and hostage situ
ations.
“We want the public to
understand this is - SWAT
is a very specified, specif
ic type of enforcement
tool but we want the com
munity to know that it’s
there and it’s for their
safety,” Hester said. “This
is their taxpayer dollars
and we want them to
know ‘hey this is what we
have available just in case
things go really bad.’”
Though the team hasn’t
been called out to assist in
a SWAT situation as of
Aug. 6, both Johnson and
Hester view the team as
insurance for the growing
county, saying they would
rather have the team and
be prepared than to not
have one in place.
This also means that the
SWAT team will be able
to help other regional
agencies, should they
need the extra assistance.
But in the meantime,
the SWAT team has been
busy continuously train
ing every month to keep
their skills sharp and get
ting involved with the
community by visiting the
cadets of the Junior Law
Enforcement Academy
and the children of White
Oak Academy to show the
team in a positive light.
The team will continue
to expand and evolve as
Hester works to establish
the negotiations team that
will accompany the
SWAT officers that should
be in place in the next few
months.
Dawson County
Emergency Services
wants to get involved as
well, as Fire Chief Danny
Speaks expressed interest
in having some of the
county’s paramedics come
aboard as SWAT medics.
“Having the medics on
scene and being a part of
the team and being able to
administer first aid to any
injured officers and/or
suspects - that’s a big one
for us,” Johnson said.
It’s been a collaborative
effort since the beginning
of 2017 and Hester and
Johnson are excited to
continue to grow the pro
gram.
“When Captain Hester
came to us from Forsyth
County he brought with
him just a wealth of
knowledge and experi
ence and training... I
can’t speak highly enough
of him and what he’s done
with this SWAT team and
where he’s taken it,”
Johnson said. “I think that
we’ve just got a great reci
pe there and I’m proud of
what they’ve done. I’m
excited to see what they
do in the future.”
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