Austin officers win national competition for crisis negotiation skills
(1/21/06 - AUSTIN, TX) - A team of Austin police officers placed first in a national contest testing crisis negotiation skills -- and it's not the first time.
Team member Sergeant Rick Shirley says the team has won first place before -- and has also placed among the top three teams in previous years.
The 22 officers nabbed the title last week at the three-day competition. It was held January 10th through 12th at Texas State University in San Marcos.
The Austin officers competed against 27 teams from across the country. The contest required them to take part in a day-long training session before engaging in two days of telephone negotiations during mock crises. Actors were on the other end of the lines. In one situation, an actor played a man who had just killed his wife. In another, a woman threatened to kill her husband.
Austin's negotiation team handles between 25 and 30 calls per year, dealing with hostage situations and suicidal people. Shirley says all but eight situations in the last 20 years have been resolved peacefully.
