Captain Jim Barr
Team Commander
The Brunswick County Sheriff’s Office Special Weapons and Tactics (S.W.A.T.) Team was established to enhance the overall effectiveness of the Sheriff’s Office. The purpose of the S.W.A.T. Team is to provide strategic assistance to operations initiated by deputies of the Sheriff’s office. These operations include incidents such as riots, high risk search and high risk arrest warrant service, armed barricaded suspects, hostage taking incidents, sniper and active shooter incidents, as well as other unique and unusual incidents.
The Brunswick County Sheriff’s Office S.W.A.T. Team has competed in state, regional and international S.W.A.T. competitions. The S.W.A.T. Team has placed first in several state competitions, second in regional competition, and in the top ten in international competition.
Deputy Requirements
To apply for the S.W.A.T. Team, a deputy must first have successfully completed his/her probationary period as a deputy. The applicant must then pass a S.W.A.T. indoctrination course. This course is made up of several events designed to test the applicant’s physical and mental endurance. An applicant must also be able to consistently score 90% or above on the firearms test. Finally, the applicant must successfully complete Basic S.W.A.T. School given at the North Carolina Justice Academy or other accredited agency.
Team Structure
The S.W.A.T. Team is made up of eighteen deputies divided into two eight person teams, a Team Commander and Assistant Team Commander. All Deputies assigned to S.W.A.T. are volunteers and are assigned to other duties within the Sheriff’s Office. Aside from their assigned duties, SWAT members receive additional training in areas such as police sniper/observer, explosive breaching, advanced S.W.A.T. tactics, etc.
