Bellingham police land $3.7 million state grant. Here’s what to know

Bellingham will receive nearly $4 million over two years to expand its police force, buy new technology and fund training. The City Council unanimously accepted the state grant Monday night. Councilman Dan Hammill was absent and Councilwoman Lisa Anderson abstained because she is on the board of Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Services of Whatcom County, which also received funds under the grant.

FULL STORY: Bellingham secures nearly $4 million for expanding police staff, technology Here are key takeaways:

• The $3.7 million grant from the state Criminal Justice Training Commission will unfreeze three police officer positions and pay for a warrant officer and a civilian records clerk to staff the station lobby on weekdays.
• About $1 million will fund new technology, including drones for a “drone as first responder” program, dashboard-mounted cameras and “grappler” devices that snare the wheels of fleeing vehicles.
• Nearly $700,000 is earmarked for the unarmed Alternative Response Team, which recently lost about $200,000 in funding, and $100,000 will go to Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Services of Whatcom County.
• Officers will receive 12 two-hour training sessions with nationally known risk-management instructor Gordon Graham, known for the principle “If it’s predictable it’s preventable.”
• Bellingham is one of only nine agencies statewide to receive money under the program, which the Legislature funded with $100 million last year at Gov. Bob Ferguson’s request.

The summary points above were compiled with the help of AI tools and edited by journalists. The full story in the link at top was reported, written and edited entirely by journalists.