Council approves intergovernmental agreement formalizing regional SWAT team with Cochise County

Sierra Vista — The City Council unanimously approved an intergovernmental agreement with Cochise County on March 26 to formalize a regional SWAT team intended to pool tactical resources and standardize training and policy across jurisdictions.

Police Chief Heiser summarized several years of joint training and operational cooperation that led to the IGA proposal, noting benefits such as aligned training days, shared tactical command exercises, improved de‑escalation tools and less strain on patrol resources during SWAT incidents. Chief Heiser emphasized that budgets will remain independent: “That’s one thing we’ve been doing over the last couple of years is so there’s no additional cost to us right now. We are just going to keep our regular O&M budget intact,” he said.

Council wanted clarity about how other jurisdictions would participate. Chief Heiser said other cities would enter separate IGAs with the county and that the county would act as the regional lead; Lieutenant Laramie of the Cochise County Sheriff’s Office was introduced as the designated lead for the regional team.

Councilmembers praised interagency cooperation and the benefit to regional public safety. Vice Mayor Carolyn Flowers noted the work took several years and commended staff and county partners for the collaborative approach.

What’s next: The IGA will govern the formal regional SWAT team; participating agencies will continue to operate under the joint policy manual and coordinate leadership and incident command per the agreement.