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University police department officers were one of 16 teams that competed in the 11th annual Indiana SWAT Challenge from Thursday through Saturday, using teamwork to complete the competition.
The officers from police departments, tactical units and SWAT teams - 14 departments from Indiana and two from Illinois - formed teams of six to endure seven team competitions and four individual events that tested the teams' ability to work together toward a common goal through shooting exercises and an obstacle course.
"Coming away with a sense of comradery and teamwork, learning how to work as a team, and working closely under stress with other people is important," said Sgt. David Bell, UPD training coordinator and special events coordinator. "It benefits our department and university because this group of six officers are really well knitted together and work well as a team."
This is UPD's third year competing in the challenge. The competition helps the officers gauge where they stand compared with other departments in the state.
"Each year it's motivation for me to see other teams," Sgt. Matt Gaither, third shift supervisor, said. "It just makes me see that hard work and dedication pays off."
The Carmel Police Department began the Indiana SWAT Challenge in 2002. The SWAT Challenge is based off the World Police and Fire Games, an international competition of SWAT teams that compete from around the world. The Delaware County Sheriff's office is in its fifth year hosting the event.
The competition was pushed back a day this year, moving the obstacle course to Saturday and increasing numbers with more children and mothers in attendance. Thursday and Friday had about 150 people per day, and Saturday surpassed that number to about 250.
Each event was physically demanding, testing the fitness level of competitors, Gaither said.
"A lot of what is physically tough about it is there's a lot of physical exertion they put on you," Gaither said. "You may have to run, you may have to carry a teammate, you may have to work with your gas mask on and you just see how physically challenging and demanding that is. It just really pushes you to your limits."
The officers always had to do something physically demanding before each event, truly testing their abilities to perform under exhaustion.
"The object is to train these guys to make precision shots with an extremely elevated heart rate," said Tony Skinner, president of Indiana SWAT Challenge. "That's what being a SWAT cop is all about - making that critical shot or critical decision under a high amount of stress."
To focus for three days of competition was a challenge in itself.
"It's a matter of watching your other competition, seeing what they do, and then just keeping yourself psyched up knowing that you can overcome whatever obstacle is in front of you," Skinner said. "It's almost as mental as it is physical."
The competition is important for training UPD officers with different scenarios, Bell said.
"As the training coordinator, I think it's my responsibility to instil in others the things I think are important," Bell said. "In my opinion what is important is teamwork, learning how to work under stress and pressure and performing well under stress and pressure."
Both of the UPD officers' favorite event was the team obstacle course.
"It's so physically demanding," Gaither said. "It's at the end of the week, so you're already tired."
Competitions like this are important for perfecting the skills needed in the field.
"These guys are type A personality," Skinner said. "They are all go-getters, and they need to come out here and they need to test themselves against the best in the whole Midwest, and that's what happens here."
Indiana State Police North was the overall winner of the competition.
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