Source: Douglas Sacha / Getty
Congratulations are in order for one FBI agent coming out of San Juan, Puerto Rico. The highly praised official who has been identified as Tai according to CNN has reportedly become the first Black woman to be selected to train for the bureau’s SWAT team.
Tai will now head to New Operator Training School (NOTS) to undergo a 10-week course that will prepare her for SWAT field operations. The 32-year-old and four other selectees will spend the next few weeks practicing and refining all the skills that they need to become certified agents. Courses include learning how to safely enter rooms and effectively handling SWAT firearms, a press release notes.
This is a dream come true for the U.S. Army Reserve soldier. Tai joined the FBI four years ago and has spent her career in Puerto Rico working on corruption cases involving non-elected officials. Before she set forth on her secret agent journey, Tai worked as a deputy for five years at the Orange County Sheriff’s Office in Orlando, Florida.
“I’m one of those people where I have a task at hand and I just focus on that task,” said Tai, whose last name has not been disclosed. “I don’t really think about people looking at me.”
I like to help,” she expressed.”Even on patrol, I’d always say that jail isn’t always the answer. Sometimes someone just needs to be listened to or things can be worked out. That’s just part of listening and trying to help the community that I was serving,” she adds. “I’m definitely thankful for all the Black women before me in the FBI,” adding “Because if it didn’t start with that one, who knows how many there would be today, if any. I’m definitely grateful for all of them before me.”
