The Little Elm Police Department Hostage Negotiation Team competed last week in San Marcos and did an outstanding job - coming in fourth place out of 40 teams.
This year was the 30th year for the Texas State University sponsored Crisis Negotiation Competition and Seminar.
Most teams were from Texas; however, there were four teams from outside the state and also teams from Singapore and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.
Each team negotiated a hostage/barricade scenario lasting approximately seven hours. Each situation is built to challenge every facet of a Negotiator Team, including the Primary Negotiator, Team Function, Intelligence Gathering and Management, Intel Boards, and more.
Experienced negotiators from around the country judge participating teams. LEPD was judged by Max Howard, retired FBI Negotiator, who was the lead negotiator during the Ruby Ridge incident in 1992. He is known to be very particular and intensely scrutinizes teams.
Notably, LEPD was the first team to ever place with Max Howard as a judge. The top score possible was 147, and Little Elm scored 143.
LEPD Hostage Negotiation Team members include Lt. Ward, Sgt. Dye, Sgt. Lescallett, Sgt. Shirley, Sgt. St. Pe’, Corporal Lowery, Corporal Kinney, Detective Keith, Detective Lara, Officer Ginn, and Officer Daigle.
Congratulations to the LEPD Hostage Negotiation Team, and thanks for all the hard work.
