Safety Task Force to Consider Training Grant

Members of the Stow Safety Task Force are looking to nab a $30,000 grant to help train local police and school officials to watch out for possible security threats in public buildings.

Munroe Falls Police Chief Rick Myers, a member of the task force, told the committee Thursday that he notified the Summit County Emergency Management Agency of the task force's intent to apply for a grant through the agency that can be applied to personnel training.

"That specifically relates to threat assessments by schools, teachers, principals, police officers, administrators, anybody involved in the school environment," Myers said. "If a student is exhibiting behavior which could be viewed as perhaps ‘at-risk,’ then the training targets those kinds of behaviors and allows the person to make a decision."

The risk assessment training is a security method the task force talked about earlier this month when Stow psychologist Dr. Alfred Grzegorek presented the idea to the group.

Myers said the training would essentially bring in national experts to instruct local law enforcement and school administrators on risk assessment.

"My vision of this one initially … was perhaps it would include all of Summit County, and we could potentially even open this up to adjoining counties," Myers said.