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State Police To Help Patrol Butler For 3 Months

BUTLER (KDKA) - The mayor of Butler is calling in extra assistance to help the city respond to an increasing number of calls.

Mayor Tim Donaldson says he has asked the State Police at the Butler Barracks to help patrol the city for the next three months.

The added patrols will be on duty from 2 p.m. – 2 a.m. daily.

"I asked them for a period of 90 days if they would patrol the city between the hours of 2 in the afternoon and 2 in the morning," said Mayor Donaldson.

The mayor says the department has only 12 officers. Two are off with injuries and he's currently trying to replace five others.

"We're in the process of filling the vacancies. We have two gentlemen that are going to start within the next week or two and then there's two other gentlemen that will be starting shortly after that," he said.

Mayor Donaldson said his request for help from State Police is a matter of public safety.

"Butler is like every other community. We have a lot of problems with the opioid epidemic. You have your spinoff problems, robberies, shoplifting, thefts, everything going along with that, the overdoses," Mayor Donaldson said.

State Police say they're happy to help.

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