ATLANTA — Georgia State Patrol is the only agency in the state with a key piece of equipment used to assist other law enforcement organizations in crisis situations.
GSP recently used its armored skid-steer during a stand-off following a shootout where two Cobb County Sheriff's deputies were killed in the line of duty.
On Sept. 8, Deputy Jonathan Randall Koleski and Deputy Marshall Samuel Ervin, Jr. were trying to serve a warrant on a suspect when a shootout happened with another individual inside the home. Cobb County Sheriff Craig Owens described it as an ambush.
Multiple agencies from across metro Atlanta responded to the scene in Marietta. There were several SWAT teams who arrived to help as well including GSP.
"We are expected to respond to anything and everything at the worst possible moment and develop a solution to the crisis," explained Cpl. Bryland Myers with GSP's Special Operations Group.
Myers said Cobb County Police requested GPS's SWAT team's skid-steer to help in clearing the large home where the shootout happened.
The skid-steer has several attachments that come with it including a platform with a bullet resilient shield. According to Ring Power, a company that builds the skid-steer known as 'The Rook,' the operator can raise the platform up to 11 feet.
Myers said their agency helped get SWAT team members into the second floor of the home following the deadly shooting.
"They had a mission on the lower side of the house and we utilized this on the second floor to get their personnel to the second floor and provide protection to team members who were operating on the lower level of the properties," said Myers.
Myers said GSP is the only agency right now in Georgia to own a skid-steer. GSP SWAT responds to calls across the state from the coast up to the mountains. Their SWAT team is made up of 35 troopers, of which 12 are full-time SWAT team members.