Lower Providence Cops Among Those Participating In SWAT Team Training Drill With Philly

LOWER PROVIDENCE, PA — Two highly respected local Montgomery County police officers took part in a SWAT team training recently along with members of the Philadelphia Police Department.

Corporal Robert Heim and Officer Ryan Gill of the Lower Providence Police Department participated in a helicopter operations drill alongside Philly cops during the training session last week in King of Prussia.

The Lower Providence Police Department announced the event through a post on its Facebook page.

Heim is a leader with the Montgomery County Special Weapons and Tactics Central Region Team while Gill is an entry element team leader with the group, according to Lower Providence.

The Montgomery County SWAT team is a "multi-jurisdictional, highly trained and equipped team that responds to high risk situations involving armed individuals, barricaded individuals and hostage situations," Lower Providence Police stated in its social media post.

The department said that the county SWAT team is available for response "24/7, 365 days a year and train rigorously on a monthly basis to keep their skills sharp."

According to a past Times Herald article, Heim had been a crash fire rescue specialist in the U.S. Marine Corps. before becoming a police officer, first with the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority back in 1999 and then with Lower Providence two years later.

The article says that Heim is a SWAT instructor on both the local and national level and has received a commendation of merit and an official departmental letter of recommendation, and that he was recognized as the "SWAT Officer of the Year" back in 2006.

The story says that he was also a top four finalist for the National SWAT Team Leader of the Year award in 2015.

Gill, who became a Lower Providence police officer in 2015, has had his own recognitions since joining the force.

Last year, Gill was issued a commendation of merit for apprehending a group of people who had burglarized a local AT&T store and were believed to be heading over to break into a local Harley Davidson business.

The group that Gill helped to arrest were part of a larger group of people who had been involved in a prior looting of the King of Prussia Mall, according to the commendation.

And earlier this year, Gill was given a Life Saving Commendation for his involvement in a call involving a suicidal individual who was sitting on the edge of a local bridge and threatening to end their life, according to a past police department Facebook post.

"Officer Gill was successfully able to talk the individual down safely and ultimately saved their life," the department stated at the time. "We are extremely proud of Officer Gill on his performance that day, and congratulate him for his exceptional professionalism and service to his community."