In the coming years a team of specially trained and equipped local police officers from Carbon County could respond to large protests, barricaded suspects and high-risk warrants.

The Carbon County District Attorney and Sheriff’s Office are taking the first steps to forming a specialized unit made up of officers and sheriff’s deputies from around Carbon County.

On Tuesday, DA Michael Greek issued a proclamation officially creating the Carbon County Regional Emergency Response Team.

“The objective is to provide the County of Carbon and all local communities with a professional team of personnel trained to handle unique policing incidents requiring additional and specialized manpower,” Greek said.

Eventually, the team will be available to assist local departments when they are faced with large gatherings, or high-risk situations like barricaded suspects and hostage situations.

Greek said the idea for the team came about in part due to protests which have turned violent in cities like Portland, but also due to incidents locally, like a 10-hour standoff in Lansford which occurred in May.

While the state police already has its own Special Emergency Response Team, the regional team could respond more quickly to situations around the county. They can assist police departments around the county which may only have a handful of officers.

Sheriff Anthony C. Harvilla said that his office is excited to partner with other agencies to expand capabilities, increase community policing and ensure safety of all residents in Carbon County.

“This collaborative effort with the District Attorney’s Office and local police departments will allow law enforcement personnel to be prepared for future deployments at a county level,” he said.

The project is still in the early stages. With the force officially established, they can now begin partnering with other departments and seeking funding for manpower, equipment and training.

Departments from around the county will be able to choose to have officers participate in the task force. The Sheriff’s Office has already committed to have its staff participate.

Many departments obtain training and equipment from regional counterterrorism task forces.

Any county funds budgeted for the project would be subject to approval by the Carbon County Commissioners.

While it may be some time before the team is engaging in situations with barricaded suspects and high-risk warrants, a small number of members will begin crowd control training in November.

Harvilla said he anticipates there will be protests where the team is not needed, but can be on standby in case the local police need assistance.

He also said there are cases where the team’s presence could prevent a protest from becoming violent.

“We just want to have the capability in case something starts to go awry, that we have the personnel to deploy and take whatever actions we need to keep our residents safe,” Harvilla said.