Officers from the North Lebanon and North Cornwall police departments were sworn into the soon-to-be-operational Lebanon County Regional Police Department Thursday.
Officers of every rank came before Judge Donna Long Brightbill to repeat the following oath.
I, [name], do solemnly swear or affirm that I will support and maintain the Constitution and laws of the United States and the laws of Pennsylvania. On my honor I will never betray my integrity, my character, or the public trust. I do further swear or affirm that i will discharge the duties of my office as a police officer with fidelity and honor without consideration to a person’s class, race, color, sex, religious creed, sexual orientation, age, national origin, handicap or disability. I will faithfully and impartially discharge and execute the duties of my office as a law enforcement officer according to the best of my skill, abilities, and judgement, so help me God.
Chief Timothy Knight was first to be sworn in.
Next Lts. Gregory Behney and Paul Savini took the oath.
Sgts. Andy Herberg and Robert Hilbert were sworn in alongside Cpls. Nicholas Gallese, John Houser, Brad Brandt, and Clayton Himmelberger.
Next to be sworn in were patrol officers H. Crouse, C. Rice, Jess Coyt, Blake Innocent, J. Althouse, Chantz Swartz, Randall Morgan, T. Holley, Steve Gross, and B. Hain.
Detective patrolman C. Groff was inadvertently left out of the previous group, so he was sworn in alone.
The department, which will be officially operational in January, follows Annville/Palmyra as the second regional police department in Lebanon County.
Before swearing in the officers, Judge Brightbill said she was proud to be a part of the historic moment.
“I am very pleased to have been asked by supervisor Wahmann to do this. As a former assistant district attorney back in the ’90s, probably when a lot of you hadn’t started your law enforcement careers yet—,” Brightbill began, with North Cornwall supervisor and chairman of the Regional Police Commission Mike Wahmann interrupting that “some of them weren’t even born yet.”
After remarking that she had still began her work as a DA after Wahmann began his police career, Brightbill continued, “I couldn’t ask for a finer group to be in my courtroom.”
After the ceremony, Brightbill added, “It seems to me that regionalization is the future, and I commend all of you.”
With the three cadets — two from North Cornwall and one from North Lebanon — now graduating from the police academy, and one officer who was absent Thursday, the new department will have 24 officers at the start of January.
The departments began to move towards regionalization in 2023, when a DCED study was performed evaluating the merits of merging.
A charter for the new department was signed in July 2024, and ever since the Regional Police Commission has been working toward a January start.
Read More: N. Lebanon, N. Cornwall move toward Lebanon County Regional Police Dept.
Knight, who has been a proponent of regionalization from the beginning, said a major benefit will be officer safety.
Read More: Former ELCO multi-sport star Kyle Knight joins family business – law enforcement
He explained that as of now, both township departments often see patrol officers working without backup. But the regional department will have five-man shifts, with the North Lebanon building serving as headquarters with substation in North Cornwall.
“It’s for the safety of the community and the safety of the officers,” said Knight.
He also said that as time has passed, both departments have struggled in finding new officers, a struggle faced by more and more small police departments. Both have hired prospective officers to be sent through the police academy.
“Years ago, it was much more difficult to get a police job,” Knight explained, but said that now, experienced officers can pick and choose where they would like to work.
And, he added, many officers prefer to work in larger departments where they have reliable backup and clear avenue to promotion.
Knight mentioned that state grant funding favors regional departments. The department has already applied for three grants and received one: A $150,000 PCCD grant paying for body cameras, car cameras, and part of the chief’s salary.
Though opponents of regionalization have argued it will incur higher costs in the long run, particularly when it comes time to expand the HQ, neither township has seen significant increases in police budgets yet.
North Lebanon, Knight noted, saw 39 percent of its 2025 budget going toward police, where it has reached over 50 percent in past years.
Though the new department isn’t officially operational yet, that hasn’t stopped Myerstown Borough (which has no police department) from enquiring on its services.
Read More: Myerstown Borough looks into regional police coverage, advertises 2025 budget
On the possibility of expanding in the future, Knight said that he would not be opposed to it.
“As long as we have the manpower to do it, that’s what we’re here for,” he said, adding that the department could always hire more officers to reach that manpower.
Residents should not expect too much to change in January, said Knight. Officers may have new badges and differently labeled vehicles, but they will still arrive on the scene when 911 is called.
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