PROVIDING SUPPORT — Efforts by law enforcement in Cross Creek Township and Wintersville to establish a special response team have received a boost through Ascent Resources, which presented a $10,400 donation. On hand for the presentation were, from left, Wintersville Patrolman Ed Fouts; Cross Creek Township Police Chief Casey Robinson; Travis Dombrowski, field security officer for Ascent Resources; and Brent Riggle, external affairs coordinator for Ascent Resources. -- Warren Scott

WINTERSVILLE — Efforts by police in the village and Cross Creek Township to establish a special response team have received a major assist from Ascent Resources.

Representatives of the natural gas company recently presented a $10,400 donation to the Wintersville and Cross Creek Township police departments for that purpose.

Cross Creek Township Police Chief Casey Robinson said the donation will support special weapons and tactics training for officers serving on the new team, which can be called to respond to active shooter incidents in the two departments’ service areas.

He and Wintersville Patrolman Ed Fouts, who will command the team, thanked representatives of Ascent Resources for their support, noting smaller departments like their own often lack the resources to support the needed training and equipment.

Robinson said though they serve smaller, suburban and rural areas, the occurrence in recent years of shootings at schools, churches and other public places underscores the need for agencies like their own to be prepared for such a situation.

Fouts said the new special response team will include selected members of the police departments and paramedics with Wintersville Fire and Rescue in cooperation with the leaders of the three agencies.

He said it was very important to him that the team include medical personnel prepared to provide emergency care.

Fouts said a grant from the Ohio Attorney General’s office, with a 25 percent local match, has supported the purchase of bullet-resistant vets for the team.

He said the team will continue to pursue grants while welcoming other donations.

Fouts acknowledged that some citizens are uncomfortable when their local law enforcement agency appears to be taking a more military-style approach.

But Fouts said subjects in more recent public shootings have equipped themselves with their own body armor and semiautomatic rifles.

He and Robinson said the goal is for the team to take an organized approach needed to save lives.

Robinson said 24 officers, including five officers from the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Department, are slated to undergo basic Special Weapons and Tactics training in the near future.

He noted the sheriff’s department, which established its own special response team some years ago, is paying for its officers’ participation.

Robinson said the team’s members will be required to continue training on a monthly basis to maintain their certification, and there are plans to host some of the classroom instruction at the Fraternal Order of Police lodge on Kragel Road.