An 80-year-old resident of Freedom Pointe in The Villages has come to the aid of the Sumter County Sheriff’s Office’s SWAT team.
Sylvia Wagner has donated to several different groups in the Villages since moving here in 2001. This was the first time she donated to the Sumter County Sheriff’s Office. When she asked the sheriff’s office what was needed, she was told the Special Weapons and Tactics team needed a ballistic shield. Wagner promptly wrote a check for the $6,000 cost of the ballistic shield. She said she did it “because she wanted to fill a need and that’s my gift to fill their need. They work hard to protect us and I wanted to help them.”
Members of the SWAT team came together Monday afternoon to thank Wagner at their training center in Lake Panasoffkee. Lt. Robert Capps greeted Wagner at the training center, introduced her to the team and showed her the ballistic shield she had purchased.
Capps explained that the shield would safeguard SWAT team members from small arms fire in the event that they needed to force entry to a building or confront an armed suspect. He also explained how the use of the shield has been useful to help convince suspects that the use of a weapon against the police would be useless, thus possibly saving the suspect from being shot.
The lieutenant explained to Wagner the intensive training his team undergoes and the grueling selection process they must pass in order to join the SWAT team. He then had the team exhibit how they use the ballistic shield by having the team penetrate a dwelling using the shield. Wagner was able to observe the action from a catwalk over the room. She was very impressed how the five-man teams moved through the structure behind her shield.
