First Female Joins Warner Robins Police S.W.A.T. Team | News

Hostage situations, barricades and drug searches are just part of the job description for Warner Robins Special Weapons and Tactics, or S.W.A.T., team members.

Those specially trained officers require top notch skills to make the team, and their newest member brings a fresh approach to the squad.

Brandi Cross is the first female officer to be selected for the Warner Robins police S.W.A.T. team.

Cross joins a team of about 25 men. They each handle 60 to 80 pounds of gear on their back, automatic rifles and a stock of other weapons.

She says five years in the military, with two tours of duty in in the desert, prepared her for the job.

Cross says she's "girly" off-duty, but on the job she is "one of the guys".

Cross said, "They don't treat me any different. They don't give me special priveledges, nothing like that, which is good. I wouldn't want any special treatment, doing this job, because no one out on the street is going to give me special treatment because I'm a girl."

When she's not working with the S.W.A.T. team, Cross serves a patrol officer on the night shift.

She joined the department two years ago, and says her goal is to become a K-9 officer.