The Columbia Police Department has been selecting new members for its SWAT team this month.

SWAT stands for Special Weapons and Tactics. Captain Brad Nelson, SWAT/CNT Commander, said that CPD and its SWAT team function very differently.

“(The SWAT team is) there when there are hostage situations or when the patrol needs help,” Nelson said.

The Columbia community got a taste of what the SWAT team does when it conducted an active shooter training inside the Columbia Mall in January.

Nelson said there were vacancies in the SWAT team that needed to be filled. The SWAT team chooses its candidates from the CPD. Candidates undergo a rigorous selection process.

“The members (eligible to be chosen) have been here anywhere from 18 months to three years, depending on the department,” Nelson said. “They have to go through a physical ability test that is very difficult and a shooting test where they are needed to be very high level shooters able to hit a certain target. After that, they have an interview with myself and the team leaders.”

Nelson has been in with the SWAT team for 20 years and said the selection process has not changed over the years. SWAT team candidates still need to go through physical ability tests, pistol tests and an interview process to be considered for a position on the team.

Nelson said SWAT team members will have different daily roles than they did when they were CPD officers.

“When they are training for SWAT, two days a month, that is what they do, train,” Nelson said. “The other portion of each month, they are full-time officers who are activated if a SWAT response is appropriate.”

Pictures of the pistol tests given to potential new team members can be seen on the CPD’s Facebook page.