Lower Burrell Mayor John Andrejcik wants more local police departments to undergo the training that officers from his city got Friday.

“I wish this permeates throughout the (Alle-Kiski) Valley,” Andrejcik said. “If this saves one life — it’s all worth it.”

Lower Burrell police were trained in a proactive approach to dealing with incidents they say could help save lives and reduce the number of use-of-force incidents involving police.

The ICAT training — which stands for Integrating, Communications, Assessment and Tactics — included a lecture from Dennis Marsili and real-life scenarios.

Marsili is an adjunct criminology professor at Carlow University, the former director of IUP’s Criminal Justice Training Center and a 24-year veteran of the New Kensington Police Department.

ICAT was developed by the Police Executive Research Forum, based in Washington, D.C. It focuses on incidents involving people in crisis and those unarmed or armed with weapons other than firearms.

At its heart: patience.

Burrell School Resource Officer Rob Acquaviva and city K-9 Officer Aaron Rodgers said the scenarios were similar to real-life calls. Acquaviva said the training emphasized approaching an incident from a tactical, sound mindset.

“This type of training highlights how important patience can be,” Acquaviva said.

The training is anchored by a five-step critical decision-making model. Officers are trained to collect information on the incident, assess risk, determine police authority, determine the best course of action, then act and review.

Andrejcik, Mayor-elect and current councilman Chris Fabry and his wife, Michelle, were the actors for the scenarios. Each example lasted about three minutes and included a post-scenario debriefing from Marsili.

The scenarios had a woman threatening suicide with a knife; a man in a behavioral crisis swinging a baseball bat; and an intoxicated man refusing to leave his estranged wife’s home.

With each exercise, Marsili graded officers on their tactical positioning and making sure their weapons were in a safe position at all times. He also was listening for correct verbal communication from officers to the subjects and coordination and planning among officers.

The police department is always open and excited to learn new techniques, Acquaviva said.

“It’s another tool in the toolbox to use in situations,” Rodgers said.

Andrejcik said the training was what he anticipated, and more.

“You can see the benefits from the lecture and the situations,” he said, as officers were going through the scenarios.

Lower Burrell is the first department in Western Pennsylvania to undergo the training.

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