LOCKPORT, N.Y. — Niagara County is receiving a $200,000 federal grant to support training in de-escalation.
Congressman Brian Higgins and Niagara County Sheriff Michael J. Filicetti announced the grant is being awarded through the Department of Justice's Office of Community Oriented Policing Services Community Policing Development Program.
The grant will support the training of two officers in de-escalation. Those two officers will then work with law enforcement agencies across the county to provide training in strategies for how to deal with challenging calls and keep people safe.
“Responding officers jump into difficult situations with constantly changing variables every day,” Higgins said. “This grant supports training to further develop tools that can help best prepare officers to deliver safe and effective community policing methods.”
“De-escalation is crucial for law enforcement on every call. This funding will ensure that the citizens of Niagara County have the most highly trained police officers responding to calls throughout the County. We will also build on the initial training through the simulator funded by this grant,” Filicetti said.
Niagara County is one of seven agencies in New York to be awarded one of these grants. During Fiscal Year 2021, $31.3 million were authorized by Congress for the the Community Policing Development Program.
