YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio (WKBN) – Police departments routinely hold training sessions for their officers, but it’s surprisingly rare to see multiple departments working together.
Over the last month, officers from 19 agencies across the region have been coming to what used to be the old Mahoning County Government Annex Building to train together with instructors from the Ohio Tactical Officers Association
“It’s so unique. We’re the first in the state to do this training with this large a number of departments,” said Capt. Rod Foley, with the Youngstown Police Department. “When the officers show up, if there’s other agencies with them, they’re all going to go in there with the same plan and understand how they want to operate.”
Even during recent incidents such as the shooting at the Lowellville schools two-and-a-half years ago, officers from all around the Valley rushed to the scene with no clear plan on how to proceed.
“We’re trying to teach them to make decisions in order to save lives right? So, we’re giving them what we call “Regain the Initiative” procedures,” said Tony Castillo, with the Ohio Tactical Officers Association.
That means training patrol officers how to respond on their own or in small teams without having to wait until reinforcements arrive.
“We gotta think out of the box and realize that our officers could be responding to any particular day of the week,” Foley said.
Banner Supply now owns the training building and uses it for storage, but the company has also been allowing local police agencies to continue training on the upper floors. Organizers of the program hope to hold even more sessions there in the future.
