Detective Ben Wetzel has served with the Phoenix Police Department for 31 years. In 2000, he was selected for the Special Assignments Unit (SAU), the department's full-time SWAT team. He has been one of SAU's primary negotiators for the past 22 years, and the department's lead negotiator for 11 years. In 2018, Ben was tasked with developing a full-time crisis negotiation team within SAU and now serves as its full-time team leader. Ben has extensive training and experience in the craft of negotiation. He has developed training materials and taught all levels of communication and negotiations within the Phoenix Police, as well as with agencies around the state of Arizona. He is currently co-chair of the Crisis Negotiation section of the Arizona Tactical Officers Association, whose negotiation cadre facilitates statewide negotiation training, conferences and competitions. Ben has also provided training nationwide as a lead instructor in crisis negotiation for the National Tactical Officers Association, and as a sought-after speaker at state, regional and national conferences.