Emergency Response Team

In 2005, the Darien Police Department joined the Southwest Regional Emergency Response Team (SWERT). This highly specialized team is also comprised of officers from the Trumbull, Westport, Wilton, Monroe, and Easton Police Departments. This unit was established to deal with situations which require equipment, techniques, and training that is beyond the norms for most police officers. The members of this unit are specifically trained to handle hostage situations, barricaded subjects, civil disturbances, high risk warrants, or any incident in which there is a high probability that someone may be seriously injured due to a criminal act. All members were selected based on physical fitness, firearms proficiency, and supervisory recommendations.

The Southwest Regional Emergency Response Team has a crisis negotiation component. Three officers from the Darien Police Department are assigned as negotiators and have undergone a 40 hour course taught by members of the FBI and Naval NCIS at the FBI New Haven office. The team's mission is to provide a professionally trained and prepared unit to resolve critical incidents in the most peaceful manner possible with the goal of minimizing the risk faced by citizens, officers, and criminal suspects.