Officer training to conduct inspections
Cumberland Township police Sgt. Bryan Smith inspects a truck while being trained for a commercial vehicle inspection certification Wednesday in the parking lot of the Pennsylvania Livestock Auction on Route 21 just west of Waynesburg.
Cumberland Township police Sgt. Bryan Smith talks with two workers while inspecting their truck during an inspection training session Wednesday in the parking lot of the Pennsylvania Livestock Auction on Route 21 just west of Waynesburg.
Cumberland Township police Sgt. Bryan Smith talks with a driver while inspecting his truck during a truck inspection training session Wednesday in the parking lot of the Pennsylvania Livestock Auction on Route 21 just west of Waynesburg.
WAYNESBURG – Local police officers from Washington and Greene counties worked together Wednesday to help train a Cumberland Township police officer on how to perform truck inspections.
Cumberland police Sgt. Bryan Smith logged some training time with help from Waynesburg, Canonsburg and North Strabane officers who are already certified for commercial vehicle inspections.
Smith said that when he is certified, he will be the only officer in his township’s department with the ability to conduct truck inspections, which include selecting trucks at random to check on safety issues, such as brakes and weight violations.
“Our department covers a big area and we have a lot of truck traffic,” he said. “So, now we’ll be able to do stops and make sure trucks are safe on the roads.”
Waynesburg officers Shawn Wood and Marcus Simms, who received their Motor Carrier Safety Assistance Program certifications last spring, helped supervise the inspections, which Smith conducted in the parking lot of the Pennsylvania Livestock Auction on Route 21 just west of Waynesburg.
Wood said Smith will need to conduct 32 supervised inspections before he can do them on his own. Smith was working on his fifth Wednesday morning.
“You’re on the roads with these trucks every day, so it’s good to be able to see the violations,” he said.
North Strabane police Officer Matt Schmeltz and Canonsburg police Officer Scott Bashioum, who are both already certified, also helped with the training Wednesday. Bashioum said that because there aren’t too many officers trained in the certification, it’s important for jurisdictions across the region to help out with supervising new trainees like Smith.
“It’s an asset for us to be able to do this,” Bashioum said. “It brings cohesiveness to everybody who does it.”
Wood said that besides state police, there are only three police officers in Greene County with the certification. He said they try to hold the training sessions once a month and that they are planning to have one in Cumberland Township and one in Canonsburg.