Sheriff's Assist Team to staff intersections for Hummingbird Triathlon; volunteers describe community support roles

Alan Wheeler, deputy commander of operations for the Sheriff's Assist Team, described the volunteer unit’s non‑law‑enforcement role and outlined support planned for the annual Hummingbird Triathlon.

The Sheriff's Assist Team (SAT) is an all‑volunteer organization that performs neighborhood‑watch coordination, vacation house checks, traffic safety support at public events and other tasks that free deputies for patrol duties. “Our job and our mission is to assist the sheriff's department by doing jobs that the deputies don't have to do,” Wheeler said.

Wheeler said SAT volunteers also support large incidents by staffing intersections so deputies can focus on other tasks; he cited a recent multi‑day deployment to the Stronghold Fire where volunteers worked 24‑hour shifts at intersections.

For the Hummingbird Triathlon, Wheeler said SAT will be on site around 6:30 a.m.; the event begins at 7 a.m. and typically runs into the late morning. Volunteers will be positioned on parts of the bicycle route — Charleston Road and Mohsen Road — to warn drivers and stop traffic briefly when groups of cyclists cross intersections. “We don't block the roads; it's just, by need… we'll stop the cars, let the bikes through,” he said.

Wheeler also described SAT’s role in funeral escorts and other community services, and encouraged listeners to contact the sheriff's office to learn more about volunteering or to report nonemergency concerns. The sheriff's dispatch number is (520) 432‑9500 and the office email provided on air was sheriffstips@cochise.az.gov. The sheriff's office web page is cochise.az.gov/sheriff.