Local SWAT teams highlight teamwork during competition

PETAL, Miss. - When deputies and officers found out this year's state SWAT competition was cancelled, officials still wanted a shot at yearly bragging rights.

The Petal Police Department held its first SWAT competition with the Lamar County Sheriff's and Hattiesburg Police Department.

Petal Police Chief Leonard Fuller said, "The local officers wanted to get together and kind of have a friendly competition among the departments."

Even though each department competed for time, pace, and even target accuracy all say teamwork is an important skill set.

“Here we do a lot of training and we get to pick up a lot of stuff from other departments and hopefully they can pick up stuff from us" said Captain Michael Flemming with the Hattiesburg Police Department.

Lamar County Sheriff Deputy Scott Craft said, “Its good to get together and train together, it helps us get familiar with how other agencies do things."

Sheriff Deputy Craft continued, "...that way if something bad happens we are all going to come together in whatever situation that is, knowing how someone else trains, and how some other department trains, it will help the entire operation as a whole.”

At the end of the day it does not matter who wins this years' bragging rights, but how their teamwork serves the community.