The recent tragedy in Paris highlights the need for local police departments & first responders to be prepared for emergency situations. Although we hope that we will not need to use our highly trained SWAT team, it's nice to know that they are here for us if we ever need them. The Greenburgh Police department is working hard to keep you safe. The following was taken from our police departments website.
The Special Operations Unit, headed by Commanding officer Sgt. Daniel Valentine, was established in August of 2007 in order to consolidate and enhance the oversight of the various specialized tactical and rescue units within the Greenburgh Police Department. These units include:
Special Weapons and Tactics Team (S.W.A.T.) - Comprised of Police Officers from the Town of Greenburgh and the Villages of Ardsley, Dobbs Ferry, Elmsford, Hastings, Irvington and Tarrytown.
In December of 2013, the Greenburgh Police S.W.A.T. team achieved New York State Department of Criminal Justice Services (Municipal Police Training Council) S.W.A.T. Team Accreditation. Greenburgh Police S.W.A.T. was the first multi-jurisdictional tactical team in the State of New York to achieve this compehensive standard. Additionally, Greenburgh Police S.W.A.T. conforms to the National Tactical Officers Association (N.T.O.A.) recommended training standards for collateral duty tactical teams.
Crisis Negotiation Team (C.N.T.) - Comprised of Police Officers from the Town of Greenburgh.
Technical Rescue Team - Comprised of Police Officers from the Town of Greenburgh Firefighters from the Fairview and Greenville Fire Departments.
K-9 Unit - Comprised of a Police Officer/handler and canine “Metro” from the Town of Greenburgh.
Mobile Command Center Unit - Comprised of Police Officers from the Town of Greenburgh.
C.E.R.T. -Community emergency response team, comprised of trained civilians throughout the town of Greenburgh
Officers in each of these units are required to undergo a rigorous selection process before assignment to a specific team. Each Officer must attend monthly training in addition to courses sponsored outside of the department. All training is coordinated through the Special Operations Unit Commanding Officer.
The Special Operations Unit Commanding Officer serves as liaison to the various police departments providing personnel to these units, and to the numerous emergency response agencies within and outside of the Town of Greenburgh.
Dr. Erik Larsen, Associate Director for the White Plains Hospital Emergency Department, has regularly volunteered his services to the S.W.A.T. and Technical Rescue Teams for training and is available to provide medical services during emergency call-out situations.
For more information about these Units visit the Greenburgh Police Department website (you can read more about the police and other departments by visitingwww.greenburghny.com -on left side there is a list of departments) or contact the Special Operations Unit at (914) 989-1712.
PAUL FEINER
