By WENDY REEVES
Staff Writer
Huntsville, AL, Times
November 14, 1999

He's never missed call-out or training run, and he helps to teach officers how to rappel

Lonnie Jones is a family minister, licensed professional counselor, team-building expert, and rock climbing and rappelling enthusiast.

He's also a family man with a wife and kids.

And he's a chaplain to the Huntsville Police Department's SWAT Team.

Although he's an easy-going and likable guy, when Jones showed up at his first SWAT training session in 1992, he wasn't welcomed with open arms.

He found a clannish group of men who seemed suspicious of him.

Jones said he didn't even know what the ''SR team'' was. A minister at Memorial Parkway Church of Christ, Jones had volunteered to participate in the police department's chaplain program.

In 1992, the chaplains decided to dedicate their individual efforts to a specific group of officers.

While looking over the list, Jones said he asked about the ''SR team,'' what it did. Nobody knew, but Jones was assigned to it.

He jotted down the time of the members' next training session, then showed up and said he was their chaplain.

As SWAT officer Donnie Daly remembers it, they looked at Jones and told him they were going running that day.

Jones said he'd go with them.

And he did - in his dress shoes.

''We ran him to death,'' Daly said. ''It was wrong. And I guess we feel a little bad about it now. But we had to check him out. We didn't know him or what his motivations for being there were.''

By the next week, Jones had learned that the ''SR team'' was the department's special response team, better known as the SWAT Team.

This time, he showed up wearing a new pair of running shoes.

Since then, he's never missed a training day or call-out.

''It took him a while to break in, for us to feel comfortable around him,'' Daly said. ''But he's one of our greatest assets today.''

Jones plays varying roles for the SWAT team, among them helping train officers to rappel.

''We couldn't hire someone who is more competent in rock climbing and rappelling,'' said SWAT Sgt. Rodney Baker. ''And Lonnie is just a great guy. He's not just our chaplain, he is one of us.''

Jones counsels team members when they have personal problems or provides professional counseling insight to negotiators on call-outs.

At times, his role may be as simple as making a phone call to team members' wives to let them know what's going on.

''If his calling hadn't been to serve God, he could easily be a police officer on this team,'' said SWAT officer Jeff Poe. ''Lonnie keeps us straight. And he has a great heart.''