UPD Officers earn elite certification

In keeping with Texas A&M University-San Antonio’s commitment to provide a safe and secure environment for all members of the community, two members of the University Police Department (UPD) attended a rigorous Special Weapons And Tactics (SWAT) training program. Situations including an active shooter, suicidal individuals and hostages were only one part of the curriculum that UPD Corporal Gerardo Duran and Officer Christopher Charo endured during the six-day course.

“The training we received prepares us to mentally and physically react to any type of incident that may occur on campus that threatens the safety of the campus community and address the problem as quickly and safely as possible,” said Duran.

Day One greeted state-wide candidates with a physical aptitude test that determined their participation in the program. Failure to meet the physical assessment requirements disqualified some participants from continuing on in reaching the course’s completion.

In a blend of theory and practical learning, topics included negotiations and command post operations, liability issue awareness, practicing less-than-lethal applications, identifying and handling chemical agents and diversionary devices, while kinetic field education included room clearing procedures, tactics for searching and neutralizing a hostile shooter, door-breaching-entry techniques for barricaded rooms, rappelling exercises and rapid deployment scenarios.

“This type of training allows us to integrate new tactics with the ones we have already learned through our previous active shooter training; putting all the knowledge together makes us better prepared for any type of hostage situation, active shooter or barricaded subject that we may come across here at TAMU-SA, where we would be the first officers on scene.” said Charo.

The course’s training helps re-enforce and build upon perishable skills that have been taught to officers previously at Advanced Law Enforcement Rapid Response Training sessions (ALERRT), also known as active shooter trainings. The 60-hour course introduced participants to SWAT artillery as well as proper management of common weapons in police departments by inviting participants to bring their arms and safety equipment and participate in demonstrations.

“SWAT allowed us to implement our tactical gear and test them in intense scenarios, which allowed us to find any potential flaws and to correct them,” said Charo. “It’s better to find potential flaws in a safe training environment rather than a real situation; there’s no time for mistakes in an emergency.”

With officers who have county-wide jurisdiction, UPD aims for a trained personnel who can, in turn, train others as well as have every advantage to successfully neutralize any threat.