Mountrail County facing a boom of a different kind, Page 2.
Ward County looking forward to space problemʼs resolution, Page 4.
Minot Public Schools to get one more school resource officer, Page 14.
Minot Daily News
SATURDAY, APRIL 25, 2015
Law Enforcement
Tendar Tsering/MDN
This photograph shows the Minot SWAT team having firearms training at the Ward County Law Enforcement Training Center in March, which is a part of the 100 hours of training that team members are required to through every year.
Preparing for the worst Minot SWAT team stands ready to protect public By TENDAR TSERING Staff Writer ttsering @minotdailynews.com
With crime on the rise in the state, the Minot SWAT team in recent years has not only increased its membership but updated its equipment with the latest armament. Members also go through annual training in preparation for any deadly situation. “Every officer receives at least 100 hours per year for SWAT training for our department. They might also have to receive additional training in specializing in something else,” said Justin Sundheim, commander of the Minot SWAT team. “We normally train twice a month,” Sundheim said. Besides handling firearms and learning new skills, the commander of the SWAT team said training to handle stress is also a must for the team. “We train how to handle stress, lack of sleep and learn to work with the team – to be able to communicate with the team, and decisionmaking skills during critical situations,” he said. “They also learn how to collect information, how to move as a team, and how to move as an individual.” Speaking about the
Tendar Tsering/MDN
This photograph shows the two SWAT vehicles of the Minot SWAT team. The one on the left is known as a barricade vehicle and the one to the right is called a verbal command vehicle.
equipment, Sundheim said his team is fortunate to have some quality equipment that has provided them with a much safer environment in recent years. As a part of updating its equipment with the latest armament, the team in recent years has purchased two SWAT vehicles, including one new barricade vehi-
cle and one new verbal command vehicle. “We are fortunate to have such equipment,” he said, adding that the vests his team wears offer much more protection than the normal vest that the patrol officers wear. The SWAT team has 24 members including seven negotiation members who
negotiate with the suspects to resolve the issue peacefully and two tactical paramedic specialists from the Minot Fire Department. To be prepared for any kind of situation, the SWAT team holds drills at different locations such as hospitals, schools and homes. “We might throw in different types of scenarios
depending on the situation. We use different kinds of locations as part of that and after the flood, we were able to use those abandoned houses for training,” said the commander. To be on the team, the minimum qualification is one has to be an officer for at least 18 months and all of the SWAT members must
be volunteers. In order to be accepted onto the team prospective members go through several interviews and test including physical fitness tests. “All SWAT members are paid just exactly as same as the rest of the police officer. It is strictly voluntarily based and just extra duty,” said Sundheim.