Plymouth Police and schools partner to seek COPS Grant for school safety training

The Plymouth Police Department and Plymouth Community School Corporation are partnering to apply for a federal COPS (Community Oriented Policing Service) Grant to fund two school safety training exercises.

Assistant Police Chief Matt Emenhiser presented the plan Monday evening, outlining two separate training programs the grant would support.

The first is a table-top training exercise involving approximately 20 participants, including emergency services and school personnel, at a cost of $3,000.

The second is a larger-scale, two-day reunification exercise at a cost of $23,500, with approximately 60 participants. Emenhiser explained that reunification is the process of getting children safely back to their parents and guardians following a catastrophic or critical event at a school, such as an active shooter, fire, or weather incident.

The two-day exercise will involve law enforcement, fire personnel, school administration, and teachers, along with role-playing actors who will portray parents and children to walk through the entire reunification process.

"I want to remind you guys that the Plymouth Police Department is committed to working with the Plymouth Community School System to keep our kids safe," Emenhiser said. "That's a high priority for our department."

The grant application is a joint effort between the police department, the school corporation, and Director of Safety Ward Byers.

With the assistant chief in attendance, board member Don Ecker raised a concern he shares with Councilman Randy Longanecker about people operating mopeds and scooters on city streets and State Road 17 without license plates.

Emenhiser confirmed that mopeds are required to be plated and the operator must have a valid license. He noted that officers are also seeing a variety of electric bikes and dirt bikes, which are classified differently than mopeds. Electric bicycles are classified just like a regular bicycle as long as they have pedals, he said, adding that the laws have not yet caught up to the new technology.

City Attorney Jeff Houin said the city has begun looking at ordinances from other communities to help address the issues.

Mayor Listenberger asked Chief Emenhiser, who also serves as a DARE officer, to speak with sixth graders about not riding bikes, scooters, skateboards, and electric vehicles on the downtown sidewalks. Emenhiser said a lot of different issues come up during those conversations, and he would address the matter with the students.