Local law enforcement tapped for rally security, details slim
Dozens of police and law enforcement officers from Butler County will once again provide support at the rally for former President Donald Trump on Saturday, Oct. 5, at the Butler Farm Show grounds, an event which will also feature Trump’s running mate, JD Vance.
State police, Butler County Sheriff deputies, Butler Township police and the Butler County Emergency Services Unit attended a meeting with the U.S. Secret Service to pre-plan for the rally. While details available to the public about the security plan are sparse, Butler County Sheriff Mike Slupe said before the meeting he believes security will be enhanced compared to Trump’s July 13 rally at the farm show.
“The cooperation among the law enforcement agencies who would potentially participate, I would feel comfortable having my family there,” Slupe said.
According to Slupe, seven sheriff deputies will provide support at the rally — one more than the number of officers present at the July 13 rally, but still fewer than the 13 deputies that staffed Trump’s 2020 rally at the Pittsburgh-Butler Regional Airport.
Slupe said Thursday, Oct. 3, the duties of the deputies will be similar to their duties at the July 13 rally.
“We are requested to assist Secret Service and state police to provide deputies at posts similar to the July rally,” he said.
State police are advising motorists who are not attending the rally to avoid the area of the Butler Farm Show grounds on Saturday, because of the traffic Trump’s rally is expected to bring.
Trooper Bertha Cazy, public information officer for state police Troop D, said state police are working with the Secret Service and the state police’s local law enforcement partners to ensure a safe event. A social media post from Cazy on Wednesday, Oct. 2, said traffic on Route 68 in Butler and Connoquenessing townships will likely be slow throughout the day.
“The Pennsylvania state police is committed to providing the necessary resources to ensure a safe event when former President Trump returns to Butler,” Cazy said.
Butler Township’s police department also has been part of planning for the rally, according to Butler Township manager Tom Knights, and the department will be working traffic control near the venue where the event is taking place. This also was the case for the July 13 rally.
The construction zone on Route 68 will not be active Saturday, according to a state Department of Transportation official, who said the project’s contractor typically does not work weekends.
Christina Gibbs, community relations coordinator for PennDOT District 10, said Tuesday, Oct. 1, traffic plans for the rally are not made by PennDOT, but the contractor had already planned for an off-day Saturday. Glenn O. Hawbaker Inc. is the contractor for the $18.7 million project.
“There is no work scheduled for Saturday and work will resume on Monday,” Gibbs said. “Everything regarding the event is handled outside of us.”
While members of the Butler County ESU are volunteers for that organization, other departments staffing the event will be paid for their time, just as they would for coverage of other events.
Butler County District Attorney Richard Goldinger, who is in charge of dispatching the ESU, said its members all volunteer their time when on duty with the department. Many of its members are staffers with other law enforcement departments, and they use their own equipment and gear when on a scene with the ESU.
“Whether or not their municipalities pay them, that is up to them,” Goldinger said. “They basically are volunteering their time.”
Alongside the ESU, as always, will be the Butler County Tactical Emergency Medical Services unit, which provides medical backup any time the ESU is dispatched. Nico Soler, commander of the tactical medical unit, said Thursday “much of this week consisted of meticulous preparation for the event.”
“We will be bringing a team of five paramedics and three emergency physicians as part of our law enforcement medical support team,” Soler said.
Knights said the number of officers on duty will be larger than a usual shift, as officers will have traffic assignments and some will still maintain normal patrols. Knights added that the township budgets for overtime pay for police event attendance every year, so the police department can be prepared to pay for services at events like high school graduation, homecoming and parades.
“This event will not have a noticeable impact on our budget,” Knights said.
The sheriff’s deputies worked for comp time at the last rally, Slupe said, so they accrued an hour-and-a-half of time off for every hour they worked. This time, the officers on duty at the rally will be paid overtime for their work, but Slupe said the pay still will be working within the sheriff’s office’s budget, approved by the Butler County commissioners.
