First Woman to Serve on Paducah Police SWAT Team

Two Paducah Police Officers have qualified to serve on the department's Special Weapons and Tactics Team. One of them is making history.

Officer Chelsee Breakfield and Officer Cody Santel completed testing procedures in March to join the specialized team. Breakfield is the first woman in the department's history to serve on the elite team.

The department says to make the team, officers must successfully complete various tests, including a physical fitness test, firearms proficiency test and an observation and memory test. They also are exposed to scenarios that evaluate areas of leadership, tactics, knowledge and how they react in stressful situations.

Breakfield has been with the department since October 2014. Santel has served since January 2015. They will both attend a two week SWAT course in July.

According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, women make up about 12 percent of officers nationwide. In agencies the size of the Paducah Police Department, women make up just eight percent of the departments in the country.

The Paducah Police Department’s SWAT Team was organized in 1980 to respond to and help resolve critical incidents that involve a threat to public safety.