S.W.A.T. - Special Weapons and Tactics

The Sioux Falls Police Department’s Special Weapons and Tactics team is currently comprised of 15 members that are all full-time Officers, Detectives, and Sergeants within the department.

In November of 2007, former SWAT Commander Lt. Richard Miller was promoted to Captain and was repositioned as overseeing SWAT, Bomb Squad, and Crisis Negotiators. Sgt. Steve Van’t Hul took over as the new SWAT Commander, and newly promoted Sgt. Josh Disburg was retained to become a Team Leader beside the veteran Sgt. Chris Pearson. The team then selected Officer Terry Matia and Officer Adam Petersen as their two newest members in March of 2008. Former Sniper Matt Burns was later promoted to Sergeant, which allowed Officer Shaun Olson to be selected to the team in July of 2008.

By late 2008, the team had responded to 14 callouts throughout the year. The majority of these were barricaded subjects stemming from suicidal subjects and aggravated assaults. The team also responded to four warrant services within the city as well as an isolated sniper incident.

The team had scheduled training twice a month for approximately four to five hours at a time. Certain members of the team were also able to attend Emergency Aircraft Entry training in Watertown, Basic SWAT Training in Rapid City, as well as a leadership seminar near the Twin Cities. Many members also participated numerous times in assisting as instructors at the State Academy in Pierre. These members taught building search techniques to new officers along with Rapid Deployment training for School Resource Officers from around the state.

Finally, the Sioux Falls Police SWAT team assisted many other agencies in November of 2008 at a high-profile court trial held here in Sioux Falls. Some members were required to switch their normal working hours to accommodate the appropriate amount of citywide protection needed.