San Antonians put their muscles to the test with SAPD's extreme SWAT workout

SAN ANTONIO – More than 100 people got a small glimpse of what it takes to be a member of the San Antonio Police Department's SWAT team.

SWAT hosted a free workout at it's obstacle course on Saturday and opened participation to the public.

"I went through this course, climbed a couple walls, climbed a couple ropes and really put myself to the test," Erika Lekander said.

Lekander said she just wanted to see if she could complete it.

Participants were separated into four groups and spent their morning going through a tough obstacle course that SWAT members go through on a normal basis.

The ultimate goal was to carry a 40-pound ram to the finish line.

"(The idea is to show) what our job entails," SWAT's Jonathan Reyes said. "What you have to do for the physical fitness -- yearly every officer of the department has physical fitness standards they have to meet every year."

The last test was to push a 25,000 pound truck up a hill.

"It was awesome, it was challenging, but I pushed through it," Inocentio Ortega said. "The team I was in, they pushed through it."

Ortega is only a high school junior but dreams of one day working in law enforcement, and on Saturday he learned first hand the importance of teamwork in the field.

"It's everything," Ortega said. "Without it you wouldn't be able to make it through it because some people are stronger in some areas, some people are weak here, and together we make up for it with teamwork."
 


About the Author

Max Massey is the GMSA weekend anchor and a general assignments reporter. Max has been live at some of the biggest national stories out of Texas in recent years, including the Sutherland Springs shooting, Hurricane Harvey and the manhunt for the Austin bomber. Outside of work, Max follows politics and sports, especially Penn State, his alma mater.

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