Thurston County SWAT Team
The Thurston County SWAT team is a multi-agency tactical response team that has served the citizens of Thurston County for more than 25 years and assisted with the safe and successful resolution of critical incidents to include dealing with armed and dangerous subjects, hostage incidents, large public disturbances, barricaded suspects and the execution of high-risk warrants.
The current Thurston County SWAT team is comprised of 18 tactical operators and 6 hostage negotiators from the Thurston County Sheriff's Office, Olympia Police Department, Tumwater Police Department, Lacey Police Department, Yelm Police Department, and one TEMS operator from the Olympia Fire Department. All tactical operators are trained to conduct entry and perimeter work, but four team members are designated marksmen who complete additional specialized training.
Thurston County SWAT operators receive 112 hours of training annually and work closely with HNT several times throughout the year during large-scale scenario training. The SWAT team is a part-time specialty assignment with most operators working full time in patrol or detective units, but all operators must maintain and demonstrate high firearms proficiency and pass a yearly physical fitness test to remain on the SWAT team.
