SWAT

The Ada Metro SWAT Team was established in 1989 and is made up of the Ada County Sheriff’s Office, Meridian Police Department, Garden City Police Department and the Ada County Paramedics (Tac-Med). The combining of agencies allowed the involved agencies to save taxpayer money, while providing the citizens a designated unit of law enforcement officers that implement special weapons and tactics to work as a coordinated team resolving critical incidents that may exceed the capabilities of first responders or investigative units, due to the hazardous, complex, and/or unusual nature of the incidents, with no injuries to hostages, uninvolved citizens, law enforcement officers or suspects.

These incidents include, but are not limited to: hostage situations armed barricaded suspects, sniper incidents, terrorist acts, high-risk transports and protection details, and other high-risk incidents. As a matter of agency policy, such a unit may also be used to serve high-risk warrants, both search and arrest, where factors such as public and officer safety warrant the use of such a unit.

To become a member of the Ada Metro SWAT Team the candidate must have a minimum of three years of law enforcement experience and successfully complete a rigorous and competitive testing/selection process. Once selected, each member must successfully complete a 40 hour basic SWAT operator’s course and within two years complete a 120 hour advanced operator’s course above and beyond the monthly training.

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