Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT)
Officer in Charge: Captain Vincent Belloli
The Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) Team members are recruited, trained, and equipped to resolve critical incidents involving a threat to public safety, which would otherwise exceed the capabilities of traditional law enforcement first responders and/or investigative units.
Members of the Dearborn Police SWAT Team have other primary assignments within the police department, with SWAT duties being a secondary assignment. Members train as a team a minimum of once per month with an additional week of annual team training at off-site locations.
The primary goal in every Dearborn Police SWAT operation is the preservation of life through the strategic use of all available time, tactics, and resources, while minimizing the disruption to the community, in a manner that reduces the chances of violence, injury, or death to citizens, officers, and suspects.
The Dearborn Police SWAT Team is currently comprised of 23 members which includes the team commander, executive officer, team leaders, operators, designated marksmen, and Tactical Emergency Medical Service (TEMS) medics. All team members must pass a rigorous selection process, annual fitness test, weapons proficiency courses, and graduate from a Basic SWAT School prior to achieving full operational status on the team.
TEMS medics are full-time paramedics and members of the Dearborn Fire Department. TEMS medics must also become Dearborn Police Reserve Officers in addition to meeting all the above requirements for team membership.
The SWAT Team works closely with other department specialty units including the Explosive Ordinance Disposal (EOD) Team, the Crisis Negotiation Team (CNT), and the small Unmanned Aircraft System (sUAS) Team, as well as with tactical teams from other law enforcement agencies. SWAT Team members working their primary assignments are always ready and available to immediately respond to any in-progress incidents that occur, and in many cases are able to resolve potentially critical incidents without a full team response and with minimal disturbance to the community.