'It's a no-brainer,' Irwin police chief says of joining Westmoreland SWAT team

Irwin police Chief Dan Wensel is asking borough officials to join the Westmoreland County SWAT team to bolster response to major emergencies.

The county’s special weapons and tactics, or SWAT, team has members from eight police departments: Allegheny Township, Greensburg, Lower Burrell, Murrysville, New Kensington, North Huntingdon, Vandergrift and Washington Township.

The unit has 25 operators, five negotiators and four tactical emergency medical services officers and is commanded by Lower Burrell Detective Sgt. Zachary Beam.

“You could have up to 35 people at your disposal anytime to come to Irwin Borough,” Beam told council last week.

Wensel invited Beam to make the pitch to the borough, which would have to pay $646 to join the team, based on the number of municipal police departments involved in the county SWAT team and the size of the department.

“It’s a no-brainer. It’s minimal cost for a quicker response with a lot of manpower,” Wensel said.

Neighboring North Huntingdon has four officers on the team, which would allow for a quick response, Beam said.

The unit has been used 55 times since it was formed in 2016, including nine times so far this year, Beam said.

The SWAT team does not have an operating budget, Beam said. Members of the SWAT team are paid by their own police departments. Overtime and training costs are covered by those departments, depending upon their contract with the municipality, Beam said.

“Cost-sharing makes it easier for the agencies (police departments) to come on,” Beam said.

The SWAT officers received specialized training through the state’s Region 13 Task Force that would have cost the participating police departments about $20,000 to send their officers to the same training, Beam said.

Equipment has been purchased through federal funding and donations, Beam said. Most of the equipment has come from a Department of Defense program in which local law enforcement agencies are able to obtain surplus military equipment. That equipment includes armored vehicles, robots, pole cameras, long range acoustic and night vision devices, Beam said.

Among the vehicles at the team’s disposal is the Greensburg police department’s $129,000 armored vehicle used for emergencies.

Irwin officials will decide next month whether to join the SWAT team, said council President Rick Burdelski.

Councilman Shawn Stitely said he was in favor of joining.

“I think we should do it,” Stitely said.