Ellisville Police Department joins national ABLE program

ST. LOUIS, Mo. (KMOV) - The Ellisville Police Department is joining a short list of other area departments to be accepted into a national training program aimed at supporting officers and preventing harm.

The program is called ABLE, which stands for Active Bystandership for Law Enforcement.

It was started by Georgetown University Law Center, and both St. Louis City and County police are members of the program.

Overall, the program’s training is another tool for officers to avoid mistakes and do their jobs better.

“It just gives officers a guidance on tactics they can use to, kind of, when they see something happening that’s outside of a policy, or outside of maybe what should happen, just to pause, take a step back and then actually reengage and solve the situation more effectively,” said Ellisville’s Assistant Chief of Police, Captain Andy Vaugh.

The ABLE project is guided by a board of advisors comprised of civil rights, social justice, and law enforcement leaders.

As of now, around 350 departments across the country are part of the program.

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