By Kimberly Matas
Arizona Daily Star
PINAL COUNTY, Ariz. — The sheriff’s office received more than $6,000 in grant funding from the Apache Gold Casino Resort and the San Carlos Apache Tribe to purchase new safety equipment, including stab proof vests and riot helmets, for the Adult Detention Facility’s Special Emergency Response Team (S.E.R.T).
S.E.R.T was recently developed in the jail to reduce officer assaults and to increase officer and inmate safety. S.E.R.T is currently made up of 12 detention officers, one commander and two assistant commanders, Tim Gaffney, spokesman for the PCSO, said. Team members were selected after successfully passing several rigorous training scenarios presented by the Pinal County SWAT team.
The primary function of S.E.R.T. is searching for contraband, but the team is also called out for inmate disturbances, cell extractions, cell searches, forced cell moves and high-risk transports of inmates and detainees, Gaffney said.
Full Story: Pinal County sheriff gets 2 grants for traffic enforcement & jail safety