Dane County TRT is Team of the Year

February 11, 2009
Contact: Elise Schaffer, PIO Phone: (608) 284-6142 Email: schaffer@co.dane.wi.us
Sheriff's Office

The Association of SWAT Personnel (ASP) has named the Dane County Sheriff’s Office Tactical Response Team (TRT) “Team of the Year.” The award was presented at a banquet held on February 10th at the Sheraton Hotel in Brookfield, WI. Members of the Tactical Response Team were in attendance to accept the award for outstanding bravery, heroism, and dedication to duty. The recognition stems from the April 3rd, 2008 call in Richland County. The Dane County TRT worked with Richland, LaCrosse, Eau Claire, Sauk, and Vernon County law enforcement to execute an arrest and search warrant at the residence of Robert C. Bayliss. Prior to Dane County’s arrival, the LaCrosse/Richland County teams had attempted to approach the residence in their Bearcat (an armored vehicle) and were fired upon by Bayliss. Their Bearcat was damaged by gunfire received. Richland County called for mutual aid and members of Dane County’s TRT responded with another Bearcat. Upon approach, the teams were met with multiple rounds from a high-powered rifle. A gun battle ensued and eventually Bayliss surrendered. Thankfully no one was injured. However, all three of the responding Bearcats sustained damage to the windows and body of the vehicles. Bayliss had his trial last week, and was found guilty of 13 counts of attempted homicide. This incident is a prime example of what a tactical team trains for. The Dane County members performed under an extremely dangerous situation, and the end result was lives saved. Sharing in last night’s recognition were Eau Claire, LaCrosse, Richland, Sauk, and Vernon Counties.