Lower Burrell police to get training to better assess incidents, ‘prioritize deescalation’

Kellen Stepler | Sunday, December 3, 2023 2:15 p.m.

Kellen Stepler | Tribune-Review

Denny Marsili explains the purpose of an upcoming training session for Lower Burrell police officers to Councilman Chris Fabry on Thursday in city council chambers.

Lower Burrell police officers soon will undergo training to better assist them in deescalating situations.

The police department will participate in ICAT training — which stands for Integrating, Communications, Assessment and Tactics — the next two Fridays, Dec. 8 and 15.

“This training for our police personnel is equipped with advanced techniques to effectively communicate, assess situations and employ tactics that prioritize deescalation. The goal is to minimize casualties and effectively neutralize threats,” police Chief John Marhefka said.

“We want to ensure our community, that we serve, with the utmost professionalism and care.”

The training will consist of six hours of lectures and two hours of scenario-based exercises, instructor Dennis Marsili said. Marsili retired as a detective sergeant after 24 years in the New Kensington Police Department. He is the former director of Indiana University of Pennsylvania’s Criminal Justice Training Center and an adjunct criminology professor at Carlow University.

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

The training is anchored by a five-step critical decision-making model, where officers collect information of the incident, assess risk, determine police authority, determine the best course of action, act and review.

ICAT could save a lot of lives and department liability, Marsili said. An evaluation, published by the University of Cincinnati Center for Police Research and Policy, found that ICAT training for the Louisville Metro Police Department was associated with a 28% reduction in use-of-force incidents, a 26% reduction in civilian injuries and a 36% reduction in officer injuries.

“I think this is going to save a lot of lives,” Marsili said.

Example scenarios Lower Burrell officers will practice include a woman threatening suicide with a knife, a man in a behavioral crisis with a baseball bat and a man refusing to leave a residence. Simulators in the role-play scenarios include Mayor John Andrejcik, Mayor-elect and current Councilman Chris Fabry and his wife, Michelle.

“This is tremendously beneficial,” Andrejcik said.

According to the Police Executive Research Forum’s website, ICAT has been implemented by more than 120 law enforcement agencies in more than 30 states.

Lower Burrell would be the first agency to undergo the training in Western Pennsylvania. Marsili said departments interested in the training can contact him at dmarsili@live.iup.edu.