Detroit Lakes PD Takes First Steps Towards Joining Lakes Area SWAT

Detroit Lakes, MN (KDLM) – Detroit Lakes Police Chief Steve Todd and the DLPD have taken the first steps towards joining the SWAT Team co-op with Hubbard and Wadena counties called Lakes Area SWAT and placing two local officers on the team.

“Over the past months, Sheriff Glander and I were approached by Lakes Area SWAT team, which is Wadena and Hubbard counties,” says Detroit Lakes Police Chief Steve Todd. “They extended invitations to both (Becker County) Sheriff Glander and myself. This is something Sheriff Glander and I have been talking about for a couple of years. We’ve talked extensively about having officers trained in this.”

The Wadena County Sheriff’s Office established a SWAT Team in 1990 which was comprised of Sheriff’s Office deputies as well as police officers from surrounding jurisdictions. Hubbard County joined the multi-jurisdictional SWAT Team in 2002 and includes officers from Menahga, Sebeka, Wadena, Staples, and Park Rapids Police Departments.

“The largest benefit of this is that we would be able to respond to incidents in Detroit Lakes that we aren’t currently able to,” said Todd. “We would have trained officers and equipment to respond to those certain situations. The training really helps build strong officers with strong leadership tendencies. When I worked in Clay County, you could look across the leadership in the Fargo-Moorhead metro area and nearly all of them had some involvement with Red River Valley SWAT.”

So, what would happen if the DLPD or Becker County ran into a situation where they needed a SWAT team?

“There are three teams we could call. We could call the Hubbard/Wadena Lakes Area Swat, we could call Red River Valley or we could call Otter Tail County SWAT. If they responded we could be responsible for the cost of their response. Or we would handle it with our existing personnel…patrol and detectives with assistance from deputies and troopers. But I feel that our officers don’t have the necessary equipment that they would have had if they were on a SWAT team. From different levels of armor protection to weapons platforms to vehicles that can be used to transport people. But the most important thing is the training. SWAT team members do training at least once a month on tactics, once a month on shooting so they’re confident and capable. In my six years as chief here in Detroit Lakes, I haven’t had to call in a SWAT team. However, when I was serving on Red River Valley SWAT we averaged about 25 missions a year. You’re always one step away from having something happen, and my job is preparation and making sure our personnel are prepared to respond to the worst-case scenarios.”

Chief Todd has received a joint powers agreement from Lakes Area SWAT and will review it with Sheriff Glander on Thursday, February 16th.