SWAT Training, Tech, and Teamwork with Lt. Doug Coons & Sgt. Andrew Miller

In this episode of the Cape CopCast, we sit down with our SWAT Commander, Lt. Doug Coons, and Sniper Team Leader, Sgt. Andrew Miller, to map the real playbook: how a part-time team can deliver full-time readiness, how selection favors calm leaders over just muscles, and what it takes to manage high-risk calls without burning out the people behind the armor. From 60 callouts a year to multi-hour standoffs, they unpack the decisions that keep officers and neighbors safe.

We walk through the core missions—barricades, high-risk warrants, dignitary protection, and major events—and the structure that makes them work. With 40 cross-trained members organized into balanced squads, the team brings medics, snipers, breachers, and K9s to the right scene at the right scale. Along the way, you’ll hear how patrol officers with SWAT training stabilize scenes before the full callout, why debriefs happen after every operation, and how mutual aid keeps long events sustainable.

Technology is quietly changing the risk equation. Interior-capable drones, pole cameras, and evolving comms let officers see and speak inside tight spaces before crossing a threshold. And training keeps pace with the tools. Looking ahead, the case for adding full-time SWAT roles is clear: faster responses to critical incidents, stronger instructor coverage, more community outreach, and less time pulling patrol off the street.

If you care about real-world tactics, leadership under pressure, and how a growing city stays ahead of risk, this conversation offers a detailed, unvarnished view of modern SWAT operations. 

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:04

Welcome back to another episode of the Cape Copcast. I'm one of your hosts, Lisa Greenberg.

SPEAKER_00 0:08

And I'm Officer Mercedes Simons. Together we make up the public affairs office. We have two awesome guests today who are representing the SWAT team. We have Sergeant Andrew Miller and Lieutenant Doug Coons. If you guys want to introduce yourselves a little bit more.

SPEAKER_03 0:21

I'm Lieutenant Doug Koons. I've been with the department since 2004. SWAT team commander and I'm in Investigative Services Bureau.

SPEAKER_02 0:29

Andrew Miller, I'm the sergeant in professional standards. I've been with the department since 2012, and I am currently the sniper team leader.

SPEAKER_01 0:37

Very cool. Thanks for coming on, you guys.

SPEAKER_02 0:39

Yeah, no problem.

What SWAT Really Does

SPEAKER_01 0:39

This podcast, I feel like we've wanted to do something highlighting SWAT for a while. So I'm glad you guys could make it on. I think the best way to start is probably for people who may be listening or watching who don't know what SWAT is to explain what is SWAT.

SPEAKER_02 0:52

If people don't know the acronym, it just stands for Special Weapons and Tactics. So it's officers from throughout the department who get additional training and they have specialized equipment to handle scenarios that are not necessarily beyond patrol capabilities because it's comprised of patrol officers as well, but you know, situations that may be time consuming or high risk or things like that. So that's kind of what the team takes care of.

SPEAKER_01 1:17

People usually see SWAT and the bear cat in situations like barricaded suspects or different situations like that where you may have to breach a building and those types of scenarios. That's just one type of situation you guys handle, though.

High-Risk Warrants And Special Events

SPEAKER_02 1:31

Correct. We also do like pre-planned search warrants if there's high-risk offenders, they have known weapons or they're highly, you know, volatile, also dignitary protection.

SPEAKER_03 1:43

Special events we can do. We have snipers deployed during special events. Besides suspects, I mean, just out of the basic, if patrol needs help, they call us. We are comprised of you know patrol officers, so anything out of their expertise, we just we just have a little bit more training.

SPEAKER_00 1:59

Who all is the SWAT team made up of? Like, how does somebody get on the SWAT team? Who do you pick? Are they in different units, different areas?

SPEAKER_03 2:07

Yes, anyone that's not on probation can try out. You have to be in really good shape. It's physical testing as well as mental testing too, in a combination of both of those. So it's very important that you're you come physically prepared and also mentally prepared. And we have a manual that you need to study and pretty much memorize to know what the team is about. We have currently 40 members on our team, and it's all part-time, and we have eight medics from the fire department, which is great. That's awesome.

SPEAKER_01 2:39

I think that's something that a lot of people would be surprised to learn is it's not a full-time thing. Like it's not you're just on SWAT and you're on the SWAT team. The members of the SWAT team have other jobs outside of SWAT that are their full-time jobs, and this is just an added thing that they take on.

SPEAKER_03 2:53

So last year we did approximately 60 call outs.

SPEAKER_00 2:57

Wow.

Part-Time Structure And Callouts

SPEAKER_03 3:08

These guys are doing this in addition to the regular duties. So it is kind of consuming them. So it's the biggest thing when we got 40 members, we broke into squads. So depending on, for example, like a search warrant, if it's a small efficiency, small one bedroom, two bedrooms. We're not gonna call out all 40 people. We can call out one one squad, and that helps with overtime and wellness, also wellness.

SPEAKER_00 3:34

Do you have like an A team and a B team?

SPEAKER_03 3:36

Like the really good guys, and then No, no, we can we try to split everybody up evenly. Every team's evenly every every team has uh two medics, fire department assigned. We have snipers and we have breachers assigned to each squad, as well as canines that we have several officers that are on the canine unit that are also on SWAT.

SPEAKER_02 3:54

So we try to spread those out evenly. So we've got equal resources on those squads.

SPEAKER_00 4:00

How does that work? How do the canines integrate in with SWAT warrants?

Squads, Roles, And Wellness

SPEAKER_02 4:04

Typically, they're there as a perimeter unit. So if someone flees a stop or a house or something like that, the dog is much faster than us, so they can catch them. But we also use them to clear buildings. If before we send an officer in there, they'll use the dog if we can't get a drone or something else in there.

SPEAKER_00 4:22

Pretty cool. Is there any technology that you guys are looking into getting to help with things like that? I know there are other agencies that have robots and things like that to go into the city.

Canines And Perimeter Tactics

SPEAKER_03 4:32

Technology is always changing. We just bought a poll cam. We're looking to get drones this year. The company we're looking at is hopefully releasing them in the next quarter or so. So hopefully getting drones. Technology is always changing and we always need to stay ahead.

SPEAKER_02 4:47

And at the end of the day, that equipment helps keep us more safe because we're not sticking a body in there and we're able to use a piece of machine or equipment that goes in there and helps keep us safe.

SPEAKER_01 4:57

So and we do as a department have drones, but you mean drones specific just to swap that you guys are yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 5:04

The exterior drones are a lot bigger. These would be interior drones that would be able to fly inside the building.

SPEAKER_01 5:09

Oh, that's really cool. That is super cool. And obviously it keeps you guys safe, but it helps you in the mission, of course, of keeping the people safe as well. So it's a benefit for everyone to have that type of equipment.

New Tech: Pole Cams And Drones

SPEAKER_03 5:19

So we'll be we'll be able to talk to the suspects and stuff like that. So through the drone.

SPEAKER_00 5:24

So what other kind of trainings like how how much training do you do? Do you keep it internal? Do you send people off to go and be trained? How does all that stuff work? Is there a minimum number of hours?

SPEAKER_03 5:35

Yes, there's a minimum number of hours. We're we're right now we're exceeding that.

SPEAKER_02 5:40

And then people, when they join the team, will go to a SWAT basic school or a sniper basic school, and that gets you certified through the state. And then once you do that, you come to us and then you receive the additional training every month.

SPEAKER_00 5:53

How long are those basic schools?

SPEAKER_02 5:55

Typically a week long, but it could be as long as two weeks.

SPEAKER_03 5:58

Two weeks, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 5:58

Pretty well.

SPEAKER_03 5:59

Now, even after you go to the basic, there's specialized schools you can go to too, like sniper training, leadership schools. That's always that's always a huge thing that we need to do because there's a lot of liability with SWAT. Yeah. And it's something that you gotta stay on with case law and technology's changing, so you need to go to schools for that as well.

SPEAKER_01 6:19

You guys do SWAT competitions. I had never heard of that until I started working here.

Training, Schools, And Liability

SPEAKER_03 6:23

We do a regional one, which is put on every year, and then we try to do the actual world one, which is up in Orlando. We've been doing them. It's just funding is an issue. So we're gonna try to set up a 501c3, um non-for-profit, for donations for that to send us there. The last recent sniper competition, Sergeant Miller did well. Sure, he doesn't want to toot his own aura.

SPEAKER_00 6:48

He's really good for for other people. He won't brag on himself, but he's really good. Yeah, he is.

SPEAKER_03 6:54

That's awesome. It's a specimen.

SPEAKER_00 6:55

That's but uh that's why we have the elite.

Competitions As Training

SPEAKER_02 6:57

We have the elite on our a lot of those competitions also come with a classroom portion. So there's tactical debriefs. So I was able to see the Pulse Nightclub debriefs. So there's a lot of things that can be learned from these. It's not just go have fun and do a competition. So a lot of it comes with training and classes. So whether it's learning how to shoot better or what went right, what went wrong in certain situations, there's a lot that's learned in those events.

SPEAKER_03 7:22

Yeah, every single competition, it's just not a competition, it's mandatory training you have to do. So it's it's twofold. So it's great to, you know, competition, but it's also a learning experience for these guys too. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 7:35

And my husband's on the on the SWAT and sniper team, and he always says that whenever he goes, it's always cool to meet the other SWAT guys from other places. They have full-time teams, and sometimes they have different tactics that they can talk about and bring to the table because as you guys know, tactics are always changing. So he says if you're if you're not operating, you're dying on the table.

SPEAKER_03 7:56

So I've never heard him say that, but that makes sense. Cool to be young again.

SPEAKER_01 8:04

That's awesome. I know too. I've been to some of the SWAT tryouts. I mean, what you guys look for is some of the more elite members of the department physically as well as skills-wise. I mean, it's tough. It's not just anyone can do this. This is a difficult thing.

Selection: The Total Package

SPEAKER_02 8:19

Right. And it's not just the physical aspect of it. There's, you know, psychological evaluation done by a doctor, and then there's also, you know, interview process with the rest of the team. So it's not just the physical aspect, it's shooting, it's, you know, everything. So it kind of encompasses all those elements.

SPEAKER_03 8:36

Yeah, we look for a total package. I mean, you can have a guy that runs really fast and could do a hundred thousand push-ups and sit-ups, but mentally he's just not all there. So we're looking for a total package that you can do both. And then on top of that, we're looking for leaders on the shift. If they're assigned to patrol, they need to be leaders on their shift, role models. That's who we're looking for.

Patrol Integration Before Full Callout

SPEAKER_00 9:00

Yeah, definitely. You had mentioned on patrol how like you you have uh patrol guys integrated in with SWAT to represent. What do they if if we run into like a barricaded subject or something like that? How does that one SWAT officer work with the rest of the patrol guys in a call like that before you before the full SWAT team gets called out?

Trust, Fit, And Probation

SPEAKER_02 9:22

So usually start, sorry, go ahead. They'll usually start, you know, putting the pieces into play, if you will. You know, they're gonna start setting up the perimeter the way that we would. Usually that's already done, but they're gonna probably start assembling, you know, a takedown team or things like that and start getting the equipment set up if they have to make you know immediate entry to the building, something like that. But we try to relieve officers because usually by that time the team is responding to the house or wherever we're at, someone's been on perimeter for an hour, maybe two hours, and they're exhausted. So by the time we show up, you know, a lot of times they're relieved that we're there to help them out. So it works out.

SPEAKER_01 10:00

And I feel like you know, you guys do a lot of dangerous stuff, and there has to be that element of teamwork and really trusting the people that are around you. So I'm sure that plays a huge role in who you're selecting to be part of the team as well.

SPEAKER_03 10:13

Yes, we want people to, you know, gel with the other guys and stuff like that. So training, repetitive training, it it causes you know camaraderie and you know they know each other and they they train well together.

SPEAKER_00 10:26

And you have a probationary period, right? If someone's not necessarily gelling or being what you need them to be.

SPEAKER_03 10:32

Yes, and this is a part-time position. This isn't like a full-time thing. So if something is not working out, they can be removed.

SPEAKER_00 10:40

What is the longest SWAT call out you guys have ever had? Because I know sometimes, especially with subjects, we try to have some patience to have the best possible outcome.

SPEAKER_02 10:50

But this might be different from mine. Uh he was on a lot longer. But me personally, I believe it was around 12 or 13 hours. Wow.

SPEAKER_03 10:59

Did you guys have one that was before I joined the team? They had one that was like 20 over 20 hours.

SPEAKER_00 11:05

What the heck?

SPEAKER_03 11:07

But yeah, we had one that was a hostage situation that took a long time.

SPEAKER_00 11:12

How does 20 hours work? Isn't everybody just like you can't even hold up your rifles are heavy. You can't even hold up your rifle for that long.

SPEAKER_03 11:19

We have a great relationship with other teams in the area. So we could call Lee County, we can call Charlotte County, we can call Fort Myers, and they'll come over and help us as well.

SPEAKER_00 11:28

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 11:28

And we would, you know, reciprocate too with them.

SPEAKER_02 11:31

If they need help, they can call us. Also, the benefit of increasing the team size. So now if it is something that's kind of contained, we can rotate people out and give them breaks. Where before you were stuck on that and we were limited to you know the amount of people that we had. So now we can do that and rotate out.

SPEAKER_03 11:48

So it helps. Yeah, when I first joined the team in 2005, we had about 12 to 15. 12 to 15 people. So and it was it was busy back then. We were doing a lot of grow houses. We used to, I mean, one time we did 10, 10 search warrants in a day. So very exhausting.

SPEAKER_02 12:04

Wow, a lot.

Growth To 40 And Wellness Benefits

SPEAKER_03 12:05

So having 40 people gives us options. It's better for officer wellness, because remember, we're on call 365 days of the year. So it it's it it works out better for these officers as well as the department.

SPEAKER_00 12:18

Yeah. When do you decide if you have like a a barricaded subject or something like that, that it's time to act versus it's time to wait it out?

Barricades Versus Hostage Decisions

SPEAKER_03 12:26

Well, for a barricade, if there's no hostage involved, there's I mean, we could just take our time with that, talk to the person, and we have tactics we can use to, you know, get the person out. So we don't have any time frame. Uh usually barricades is a lot quicker, hostages obviously are gonna be a lot more time consuming. Manpower intensive. So hostage is is gonna take a lot of time. It's that would take the whole team. 40. We we would need 40 people for that. Yeah. And as you divvy up the roles between all the members, you see how the manpower is dwindling, and we need the full team for the hostage rescue.

SPEAKER_00 13:04

What are you trying to get the team up to? What are your future goals for everything?

Vision: Keeping Team At 40

SPEAKER_03 13:08

I would like to keep it at 40. We're we're we're good right now. Eventually, I would like to have some full-time members. Yeah. I think not only it would benefit patrol for critical incidents, having a full-time team available, it'll free up patrol so they're not sitting on a house for hours on end. We can have a team respond and respond to critical incidents on the road. As far as community services, they can, you know, take the bear cat out, you know, go to schools and stuff, meet with a community. That'll be good for the community. Training, they're all high liability instructors, so they can do training as well. Frees up some of the instructors, and then even professional standards could benefit from it. And yeah, it'll just be a huge all around all around win. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 13:52

As the city grows, it's it's unfortunately with a higher population comes, you know, the increased chances of more violent activity. So it it is definitely something that we want to be prepared for and get ahead of.

Full-Time SWAT Benefits To City

SPEAKER_01 14:04

Absolutely. And we usually start the podcast by asking each person that we interview to give a little bit of a background on themselves.

SPEAKER_03 14:10

I started in nine 1999 in New York City. I did five years there and left in 2004, came down here. I started off on patrol platoon four, Delta, used to be called Delta, went to street crimes, went to investigative services, financial crimes at the time, and then went to property, got promoted sergeant, went back to platoon four, did a little while there, came back up to investigative services, economic crimes, and I've been there, and then I got promoted to lieutenant in 2021, I think, 22. I don't know. Sounds right. Sounds right.

Career Paths Of The Guests

SPEAKER_01 14:47

Twelve before I got here. So I came in 23.

SPEAKER_03 14:51

So yeah, I've been in investigative services since I've been promoted lieutenant, so that's awesome.

SPEAKER_01 14:55

Yep.

SPEAKER_02 14:56

I started in 2012, started patrol shortly after that, and worked nights. Uh, after being on patrol for a year, I was able to get on the SWAT team. And then probably five years in, we had the SRO program that opened up and they needed a lot of officers to go fill that role because there was 25 officers that we had to take.

SPEAKER_01 15:15

Wow.

SPEAKER_02 15:16

And they wanted to take some SWAT officers and put them in the schools because Stone and Douglas had just happened. So I went into school for a few years, then left that and went to the Investigative Services Bureau working in the Special Investigations Unit. Um, and we were partnering with Homeland Security, working cases with them and other, you know, a lot of local jurisdictions and other agencies. From there, I got promoted and went back to patrol, did that for two and a half years, and then I moved to the Professional Standards Bureau.

SPEAKER_01 15:49

Awesome.

SPEAKER_02 15:49

Sniper team leader as well.

SPEAKER_01 15:51

So very cool.

Time Commitment And Leadership

SPEAKER_00 15:52

How much of your time, like for each of you, w is is percentage-wise, I guess, based on what you do for SWAT leadership versus your actual jobs. How much time does that take?

SPEAKER_03 16:04

Mine, surprisingly, is a lot. Taking on 40, 40 people. I do have some awesome assistant team commanders that help me out a lot. But a lot of my time is SWAT related between getting equipment, personnel issues, stuff like that. So if I have to give a percentage of it, it's probably 50.

SPEAKER_00 16:26

Wow. That's a lot. That is a lot.

SPEAKER_03 16:28

Plus, I have the other duties as well investigative services, supervise property crimes, economic crimes, VAs, forensics, and evidence.

SPEAKER_00 16:38

Yeah, and sometimes acting captain.

SPEAKER_03 16:40

Yep. Yep.

SPEAKER_02 16:42

Mine's not nearly as that that much. So someday, someday. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 16:46

But it's still a commitment. It's a big commitment.

SPEAKER_02 16:49

So I on the SWAT side of things, I'm only responsible for an additional seven snipers. So it's not nearly as much as he has with the entire team.

Debriefs And Continuous Learning

SPEAKER_03 16:57

So but these guys are great. They come with years of experience. Makes my job a lot easier. If if I didn't have them, the team leaders, such as Sergeant Miller here, I'd be I'd be in trouble. Sergeant B and the Eastern Director for NTOA, so I mean, he he knows his he knows his stuff. So Sergeant Livingston's been on the team for a little bit less than me, so he's got experience. That's awesome.

SPEAKER_00 17:22

Now, do you guys debrief after different scenes that you have? Do you debrief if you see a problem or do you always debrief?

SPEAKER_03 17:29

We always debrief. We always debrief. But even after a simple warrant. Because there may be something that somebody sees that you know nobody else saw, and we want to make sure that we get that expertise, that knowledge from that warrant or whatever, whatever happened right or whatever happened wrong, so we can learn from it.

Future Needs And Command Support

SPEAKER_01 17:46

For sure. Anything else we're forgetting, guys? Anything you can think of that you want to add?

SPEAKER_03 17:50

Like I said, as a city grows, it's we would like to go down that full-time road. I think it's needed, especially investigative services. We're we're getting a lot of surveillance and takedowns and stuff like that, where we we need some full-time members. So eventually, I could see in the next couple of years we get that.

SPEAKER_00 18:08

Yeah, I think especially having that just elite training that the SWAT guys have and doing so many different takedowns and surveillance and having that extra layer of security available would just be outstanding, I think, for everybody.

Clearing Up TV Myths And Closing

SPEAKER_03 18:22

If we have the training, we got to use that. Yeah, absolutely. You know, let that let that slide. Luckily, we have a uh great command leadership here that supports us training and can see the vision that we see in the future for us.

SPEAKER_01 18:36

Well, thank you both so much for coming on, taking the time. I know you're busy.

SPEAKER_00 18:40

Yeah, I think it's great. People probably see a lot of things on TV and it's nothing like that. So giving them a more realistic idea of what you guys do, what to expect, maybe why certain calls and things take longer. I think is really good for people to understand as well as the direction that we're trying to go with everything. So for sure.

SPEAKER_01 18:58

You guys are awesome. Thank you so much. Thank you. And for everyone who is listening or watching, we will catch you next time. Have a good one. Stay safe.