Municipal police and state police will be able to communicate by radio in the county for the first time under an agreement approved Wednesday by the county commissioners.

The intergovernmental agreement with the state has been in development since long before former President Donald Trump’s July 13 rally at the Butler Farm Show grounds, county officials said.

Problems with communications between the Secret Service and local police at the rally was the subject of a U.S. Senate committee hearing Tuesday in Washington, D.C. Federal officials said a Beaver County Emergency Services Unit member spotted Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20, of Bethel Park, about two hours before he opened fire, killing spectator Corey Comperatore of Buffalo Township and injuring Trump and two spectators.

A photo of Crooks was shared among snipers from Beaver, Butler and Washington counties, and Crooks was spotted again about 10 minutes before the shooting. Secret Service agents shot and killed Crooks after he started shooting.

The agreement approved by the commissioners allows the county to “patch” into state police talk groups using a computer with permission from state police.

The county and state police use different radio systems, said Steve Bicehouse, county emergency services director. Communications between state police troopers and municipal police had to be relayed by county dispatchers and state police dispatchers known as police communications operators, he said.

“Right now we communicate via the dispatchers. So our dispatcher can relay information to PCOs who relay to the officers. This will eliminate that and allow direct communication. It’s something that everybody wants. The technology is now there and available,” Bicehouse said.

County 911 dispatchers will now be able to listen to state police communications and state police dispatchers can listen to county communications. When needed, a patch can be established, allowing state troopers and municipal officers to talk to each other directly, he said. State police must authorize use of the patch, he added.

Patching isn’t new

“We currently do it on a daily basis with fire and EMS. It’s part of the normal operation because we do have responders from out of county coming into Butler County to respond to incidents and they’re on different frequencies. So we can patch them using a computer essentially so that they can talk,” Bicehouse said.

The new agreement comes at no cost to the county, which already has the equipment needed for patching, he said.

“This has been underway for some time, long before the July 13 incident,” said Leslie Osche, commissioners chairman.

Bicehouse said a patch for state police and local police has been “on our radar for a number of years,” but reaching the agreement wasn’t easy because of rapid evolution in technology and changing computer system versions.

Indigent Defense Grant

In unrelated business, the county was awarded a $95,243 Indigent Defense Grant from the Pennsylvania Commission of Crime and Delinquency to pay for the defense of indigent people.

Public Defender Charles Nedz said the grant will be used to hire a mental health attorney and social service advocate, who will help indigent defendants with housing, mental health and drug and alcohol treatment services.

Osche said the attorney will work up to 1,000 hours year.

The commissioners also awarded a $267,517 contract to Wiest Asphalt Products and Paving to reconstruct Binsey Road in Summit Township.