FBI Selects First Black Woman To Join A Bureau SWAT Team
An FBI agent in Puerto Rico is believed to be the first Black woman to be selected to train for a SWAT team bureau.
Only identified as “Tai,” she’ll be undergoing New Operator Training School (NOTS) – a 10-week course that prepares trainees for field operations, the bureau said in a news release.
If “Tai” passes, she will join the San Juan Division’s SWAT team as a probationary member. The FBI says she will undergo more training to become officially certified within six to 18 months.
"I'm one of those people where I have a task at hand and I just focus on that task," she said in the news release. "I don't really think about people looking at me. Hopefully somebody will see that I was able to do it. I'm not the biggest person. I'm not as strong as some of these guys. But as long as you have perseverance -- because it does get really tough -- you push through it and keep going."
While nothing is certain as far as “Tai’s” SWAT team future, Senior Team Leader Mike Dubravetz says he "sees a lot of promise in Tai.”
"There are no guarantees for success, but she's been willing to tackle this," he said in the release. "I'm impressed with her performance. She wouldn't have made it through the selection process if she didn't demonstrate that she has what it takes to be successful."
“Tai” has been working in the FBI’s field office in Puerto Rico since joining four years ago and has been focusing on "corruption cases involving non-elected officials," according to the bureau. Previously, she was a soldier in the U.S. Army Reserve. She says she was inspired to join the FBI after seeing the bureau’s response to the 2016 mass shooting at Pulse Nightclub.
"The amount of assets and the professional attitude of agents," Tai said. "They were organized, and they got stuff done."
Later this year, she’ll return to NOTS with a new set of selectees to complete her training, CNN reports.
"I'm definitely thankful for all the Black women before me in the FBI," the new agent said. "Because if it didn't start with that one, who knows how many there would be today, if any. I'm definitely grateful for all of them before me."
