METRO SWAT is a multi-agency tactical response team, covering many of the incorporated cities within greater Pierce County. METRO SWAT provides primary coverage to the membership of the Pierce County Cooperative Cities group: Bonney Lake, Buckley, DuPont, Fife, Lakewood, Milton, Orting, Puyallup, Roy, Steilacoom and Sumner; METRO SWAT also responds to outside jurisdictions through mutual aid requests. The authorized staffing of 21 tactical officers, five snipers and five negotiators is drawn from the agencies that comprise METRO SWAT. Tactical EMS coverage is currently provided by members of the Steilacoom Fire Department. 

METRO SWAT tactical officers carry a variety of department issued handguns, and primary weapons are all AR/M4-type carbines. Snipers deploy with precision .308 caliber rifles in support of their mission. METRO SWAT’s support vehicles are pre-positioned throughout its coverage area; these vehicles include a fully-equipped mobile command post, a negotiator vehicle, a specially equipped SUV and personnel carriers with ballistic protection. 

METRO SWAT trains twice monthly on core individual and collective tasks; snipers are authorized an additional training day for their specialized job skills. The team also has a three-day training session in the fall, a week-long session in the spring/summer and an annual, full-scale evaluated exercise.