By Matt Gerish
SNPOnline.com
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Delaware city police will head back to school next month following the Monday, Oct. 13 approval of a mutual-aid agreement with Ohio University police.
During its Oct. 13 meeting, Delaware City Council approved an agreement to allow Delaware city police to join forces with OU police officers.
The university’s police department invited Delaware police to join them on bike patrol during the annual Halloween Block Party in Athens.
Delaware Police Chief Russ Martin said large annual events in Delaware such as the Little Brown Jug are creating a need for better crowd control.
Martin said more on-the-job training is needed to continue to develop the skills and tactics necessary to deal with the issues associated with such large events.
Although not a school-sanctioned event, Athens and Ohio University receive thousands of out-of-town visitors every year who join the party on the city’s main drag.
“We just think it’s an opportunity for our officers to get some real good experience down there,” Martin said.
Martin will send five Delaware police officers to Athens for the Nov. 1 event.
The officers will pair up with an Ohio University police officer to patrol the crowds on bike.
“It’s a little out of the ordinary. We know it’s not a neighboring community,” Martin said. “It very well could be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. We’ll just see how this goes.”
Martin said the Ohio University Police Department will pay Delaware back by providing its nationally certified bike instructor for Delaware’s 2009 bike training school at no cost…
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