Police department requests $25,000 for crowd‑control training and protective gear; committee approves

The Holyoke Police Chief told the Finance Committee on Oct. 27 the department needs $25,000 in capital outlay to acquire crowd‑control training and personal protective equipment.

The chief said the department has not had recent crowd‑control or riot‑control training and currently lacks helmets, sticks and other personal protective gear. "We have 0 equipment for that. And God forbid that there's a demonstration... Our people need to be trained in current practices," the chief said, adding the lack of training raises liability concerns if an incident occurs.

The committee recorded the change on the police department's supplemental as a capital outlay addition. The chief said the funds would be used both for training and for equipment purchases tied to that training; the committee approved the request.

The committee did not identify additional related items in the police supplemental at that time.