ZELIENOPLE POLICE DEPARTMENT
Proudly Serving the Boroughs of Zelienople and Harmony
"So Others May Live"
Butler County Emergency Response Unit
The Butler County Emergency Services Unit (Butler ESU) was established in 2017 in an effort to effectively counter increasing occurrences of violent confrontations between police and criminal elements.
The Butler County Emergency Services Unit serves all residents of Butler County and all 21 municipalities. As a part of PA Region 13, the TEAM may also be used to assist other SWAT teams within the area.
The combined unit provides a highly trained, better equipped and larger number of officers to safely and effectively address the most serious of police confrontations.
The Butler ESU Team is responsible for responding to unusual occurrences beyond the tactical capabilities of normal police resources such as: Barricaded subjects, high-risk warrant services, hostage situations, and sniper situations.
The Zelienople Police Department is proud to have three active members in the Butler County ESU.
Other participating agencies include: Adams Township Police, Butler City Police, Butler Township Police, Cranberry Township Police, Jackson Township Police, Penn Township Police, Saxonburg Borough Police, and the Slippery Rock Borough Police.
Butler ESU Tactical Team Members, known as operators, have attended basic and advanced SWAT schools through the National Tactical Officers Association. Additionally, many operators have also attended advanced schooling such as:
Explosive Breaching, Firearms Instructor, Hostage Rescue, Less Lethal Instructor, Rappelling, Tactical Combat Casualty Care, Sniper/Observers and Tactical Emergency Medicine.
Sniper/Observers Team Members have attended basic and advanced sniper schools in addition to their basic and advanced SWAT training.
Tactical Emergency Medics are all highly trained Paramedics and serve daily throughout the commonwealth. Many of them have years of service with various Volunteer Fire Companies, bringing additional skillsets to the Team.
Crisis Negotiation Team (CNT) have skillsets in assessing individuals during a crisis situation in order to determine their propensity for violence and willingness to have dialogue. They are able to discreetly enter a crisis zone and initiate dialogue with suspects, hostage takers and others during times of great stress. CNT members are also trained in the use of various surveillance equipment.