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Campbell police debut check-ins for elderly, disabled residents
Residents who are disabled or at least 70 can participate
By Sarah Lehr
CAMPBELL
Melissa Williams, a Campbell police officer, was horrified when she discovered her grandmother had been locked out on her front porch for three days, unable to call her family for help.
Fortunately, the grandmother, who lives near Pittsburgh, was unharmed. Still, Williams was unsettled.
Episodes such as the one her grandmother suffered motivate Williams as she oversees a new initiative by the Campbell Police Department.
“This one hits home,” Williams said. “Family is everything.”
The department is now offering welfare check-ins for residents who are disabled or at least 70 years old. Police officers also will distribute information for the elderly, such as pamphlets from the Ohio Attorney General’s Office about how to avoid phone scams.
Campbell Police Chief Dennis Puskarcik said the program is ideal for residents, such as Billy Halase, a former Austintown police officer who now uses a wheelchair. Halase said he knew from a young age that he wanted to enter law enforcement because the profession runs in his family. Halase’s father was a former Campbell police chief.
Puskarcik, who took office this January, said the program reflects his department’s push for community-oriented policing.
“We want our police officers to go out there with the community, not just worrying about going out there and writing tickets and arresting people,” said Mayor Nick Phillips, a former Campbell police officer. “It’s about being a service for the community. You can know that you have a guardian angel.”
To participate in the check-in program pick up a form at 351 Tenney Ave. from either the police department or mayor’s office. Interested participants also can call city hall at 330-755-1451 to request a form.