BROOKVILLE, Pa. (EYT) – A series of mutual aid agreements will help protect three Jefferson County law enforcement agencies against potential liability issues.
Brookville has secured agreements with departments in Punxsutawney, Reynoldsville, Brockway, and Clarion.
Reynoldsville also has an agreement with Sykesville Borough Police.
“It helps protect us with potential legal issues when we assist other departments,” Reynoldsville Chief of Police Troy Bell said. “Our insurance covers us when we are working in the borough, but when we need to help out elsewhere, this gives us liability protection if something were to happen, such as being shot or in a traffic accident.”
While such instances don’t happen often, Bell said his department worked with Brookville on traffic control earlier this summer when an accident on Interstate 80 caused a massive amount of traffic to be re-routed into Brookville.
Brockway Chief of Police Terry Young said his borough council recently approved the agreement.
“It’s a good thing to have in writing in the event anything happens to one of our officers when they are working in another municipality,” Young said.
Young is planning on reaching out to other police forces to discuss forming similar agreements.
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