Diving into ponds and lakes to recover evidence is no easy task, but spending long hours in murky water is a necessity for the Dallas Police Department Underwater Recovery team.

Photo by Danny Fulgencio

Photo by Danny Fulgencio

Whether it’s gathering crime scene evidence, searching for a body or recovering a vehicle, the team spends 20- to 60-minute intervals submerged in often opaque black water. It’s a meticulous job, and it’s one that is both physically and psychologically demanding.

“We are very methodical. We are grandmas when it comes to collecting evidence — slow and meticulous,” says dive team commander Jack Bragg.  “We aren’t going to be the reason some guy gets off because evidence was mishandled.”

In 2014, the Advocate profiled the team to learn more about the rigorous training process, diving conditions and why such a difficult job is so important to the 22-man squad. You can read it here.