Special Weapons and Tactics: SWAT. Perhaps we need to switch the acronym to STAW, but it doesn’t roll off the tongue as smoothly.

SWAT, while known for their fancy gear and weapons, begins with negotiation and communication. They seek to preserve life, not take it.

West Jordan Police Chief Ken Wallentine explains SWAT is “steeped in collaborative communication. They are humble and capable, and rely on one another to develop skill sets and knowledge bases that complement each other.”

SWAT officers are summoned for high-risk and hostage confrontations, homicides and tense drug-related crimes.

“They are called to intense and dynamic situations–but they are careful and deliberate communicators,” Wallentine continues. “They create a space and time that creates options.”

In movies, SWAT is often the team that is called upon when extreme force is necessary to control a situation. But force is actually statistically used less often with SWAT than with typical patrol officers.

SWAT is a joint assignment in law enforcement in Utah. West Jordan SWAT is combined with Department of Public Safety (DPS) SWAT to form one of the finest teams in the state. Members perform other duties within their police department. Each week they meet for special training and must excel at firearm and tactical skills, and be in excellent physical fitness.

As a teenager, Casey Bronson didn’t like cops. He got slammed with more than one speeding ticket right after he got his driver’s license. And yet, he was awarded a peer-selected award “SWAT Operator of the Year” in 2025.

What does it take to get such an award?

According to Bronson, no one on the team does the bare minimum. Everyone is giving 110% to their training and their daily work. He always saw the award go to “those who are above that. They facilitate training and train themselves at a phenomenal level. They’re willing to help out the new guys–make them feel comfortable to learn and to ask questions.

“I don’t think I did anything different. It’s an honor to get it.”

SWAT may sound like a group of hardened individuals, armored inside and out. But in West Jordan, according to Casey, the armor is actually their community.

“When we look at each other, we take a softer approach,” Bronson explained. “In West Jordan as a whole, everybody is concerned with each other. If you’re not having a good life at work, you’re not going to have a good life at home–It will steamroll into your personal life. We want people to feel comfortable enough to be human.”

Patrol and SWAT officers are the front lines to some of the worst-case scenarios, and it could easily be a slippery slope into hopelessness and despair. But not to Bronson. “The world has bad events. But the world itself is good.”