You may want to find another place to grab a couple hostages.
The Charlottesville Police Department S.W.A.T. team took first place at the Virginia Annual S.W.A.T. Competition. Twenty-one teams from Virginia, Pennsylvania and South Carolina competed in the 8th annual contest. The Albemarle County Police Department’s team placed third.
"I am extremely proud of their skill, tenacity, strength and remarkable team
work," says Police Chief Tim Longo via e-mail. "In part, I believe their accomplishment is a testament to the level of time and energy they put into the training both individually and as a team."
The Harrisonburg Police Department hosts the competition each year. This was the first time that Charlottesville’s S.W.A.T team took part in the competition. S.W.A.T. team members were required to master military-type events that involve shooting, running and navigating an obstacle course.
"We’ve been training for the last three months for this," Sergeant L.A. Durrette told Harrisonburg’s Daily News Record. "We tried to focus on the shooting and physical parts."
"The S.W.A.T. Team is a critical resource to both the department and the community," Longo says. "It’s the kind of resource that while it is not deployed on a regular basis, it is extremely important during high risk situations."