By: Las Vegas Now Staff
The men and women who are called in for the most dangerous situations are often forced to face desperate people who feel caged in and may be unstable. They are members of the elite SWAT team, and they train extensively for the missions that could mean life or death.
It takes a lot of skill and Eyewitness News took a real-life look at the training Henderson's SWAT team goes through to save lives.
When police find themselves in risky situations, every move matters. They're practicing for the real thing, and that practice that can mean the difference between life and death, a good ending or a bad one.
Henderson Police Lieutenant Marc Cassell holds SWAT school on a range outside Boulder City, and just trying out for this highly-skilled tactical team is not always a walk in the park.
It is a job where precision matters, “Although these situations are dangerous, by bringing SWAT into them, we deescalate that danger.”
On the surface, the drills may look exciting, but SWAT school is rigorous and competitive. Not everyone is cut out for it, “We lose about 50-percent of our officers in this school because it's so tough.”
Those that do sign on have to be ready for anything, at anytime, “If the pager goes off, or the phone rings, they're so dedicated, they drop what they're doing and they come and they're on call 24-7.”
The SWAT team trains for a lot more than just hostage situations. Henderson deals with suicidal subjects, serve search warrants to dangerous scenes, protect dignitaries and they train in counterterrorism.
SWAT members and negotiators always aim for the innocent to go home safely and the criminals to go to jail. At the end of the day, that's what they train for.
Henderson's SWAT team is called out on average a hundred times a year. While the calls may not have the Hollywood drama like you see on CBS's Flashpoint, they all have to be handled carefully.
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