MACON, Ga. — In light of recent events, some Central Georgia sheriff's departments say they're making sure to keep their deputies trained and ready.
This week, two agents were killed and three wounded while serving a federal search warrant in Florida.
Here in Macon-Bibb County, the sheriff's office says they train both their deputies and the SWAT team on a monthly basis. This training includes prepping for anything that can happen when serving warrants.
"The main thing I try to tell everybody is we wanna train for the worst and hope for the best," says Captain David Freeland.
Freeland oversees the training division of the Bibb County Sheriff's Office. He says every deputy is required to train every quarter.
"We'll do an ambush awareness training, we'll do some officer down training, we'll do some traffic stop training. So, a lot of times, especially with the officer down and ambush training, it could be as they're approaching a house on a regular call or it could be if they're approaching a house to serve a warrant," he says.
Freeland says the general rule they have to serve warrants is for deputies to be paired up, or to create a more extensive plan for the SWAT team if it's a high-risk situation.
"Somebody you know who has a history of violence probably," says Freeland. "Type of weapons that they might have there, number of suspects that they might have there as well," he says.
In Monroe County, Sheriff Brad Freeman says their training is more or less the same as Bibb's.
"Our SWAT team trains once every two months, eight hours at a minimum," says Freeman.
Freeman says even with the extra training, they treat every search or arrest warrant differently.
"You want these guys to maintain their skill levels, just like playing a sport, you've got to practice that sport to maintain your skill level, same way with the SWAT team or just a deputy in the field," he says.
Both agencies say they do their training in their respective counties and at the Georgia Department of Public Safety Training Center in Forsyth.