Muskego Consolidates SWAT Teams

After a standoff that lasted about 11 hours in October in Muskego, where a man had barricaded himself in his home after a domestic disturbance call, police officials were looking for ways to provide service without depleting their available resources.

"We realized that we may need additional help, especially with the Martin Drive incident," said Muskego Police Chief Craig Moser. "With every call we have we're learning from our mistakes, and this one had us pulling in every available officer, but we still needed to have our patrolmen out there."

The answer could come in a Moser said, to consolidate SWAT and critical response services into a new Suburban Critical Incident Team, and Tuesday night the city's Common Council agreed.

"We have been discussing this for several months," Moser said, "and the board formed will be made up of chiefs from all of the departments, so we all have a say in how the program is run."

The cost of the agreement is $4,000 per year, but the current costs for the SWAT program and the ammunition needed would be covered under it. Normally those costs have been $3,850 per year, so the net cost to the city would be $150. Muskego will join the cities of Brookfield, Delafield and New Berlin, and the villages of Chenequa, Hartland, Mukwonago and Pewaukee.

The key to the agreement is in the hours of training that all members will undergo together, which will keep everyone on the same page during a call up and better prepared. It will also allow as many as 44 officers, 13 negotiators, one medical doctor and two psychologists to be enlistedover the course of an emergency response situation.

SWAT teams are also used during dignitary visits, and last year there were three in Muskego: one from presidential candidate Mitt Romney and two from Congressman Paul Ryan.