New police chiefs in North East, Wesleyville talk of partnerships to benefit both communities

Two eastern Erie County police departments have developed a familiarity over the years through their work at serving the citizens of their small communities.

The relationship is expected to strengthen as the new chiefs of the North East and Wesleyville police departments pledge to pool their resources to benefit the officers working in both boroughs.

Sean Lam, 29, a six-year member of the North East Police Department, was appointed the borough's new police chief on Dec. 6. He replaces Michael Sliker, who served as chief since 2014.

Robert Buzanowski, 45, a member of the Wesleyville Police Department for nearly 14 years, was tapped on Jan. 12 to fill the position of chief of police. He replaces Robert Schulz, who served as chief since 2007.

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Both men bring a significant background in law enforcement into their new jobs.

Buzanowski has served the Wesleyville police force as both a part-time and full-time officer, and was most recently a sergeant on a borough force of seven full-time officers. An Erie native and McDowell High School graduate, Buzanowski previously worked for the Gannon University, Girard and Mercyhurst University police departments before joining the Wesleyville Police Department.

Lam, a North East native, previously worked as an officer with the Mercyhurst University Police Department, as a security officer at Presque Isle Downs & Casino, as an emergency medical technician for EmergyCare and as a dispatcher for the former East County Communications Center.

He was most recently a captain on the North East Police Department, which has a complement of seven full-time and four part-time officers.

Chiefs will share expertise, resources

Buzanowski and Lam, who Lam said have known each other since his days as a dispatcher, said one of their goals is to utilize the resources of their respective small departments to benefit both agencies.

"They have great resources at their department that we can use to teach our guys. We have guys here that can help teach them, whether it's meeting annual recertification requirements for Tasers, firearms, less-lethal, use of force, de-escalation," said Lam, whose department serves a community of about 4,000 residents. "We're going to work in tandem and accomplish those goals."

"The biggest thing is the training," added Buzanowski, whose department serves a community of about 3,100 residents. "With everything going on in law enforcement, we can't stress enough the training and working together and being there for each other's department."

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Both said the big issues their departments face include the ongoing drug problem, as each has seen an increase in those cases. Lam said he's also seeing a rise in "drugged driving" incidents, while drunken driving incidents have decreased.

"It's all the training curve," he said. "I think everyone had alcohol DUIs down pat. Now we're looking for more difficult clues to detect these impaired drivers."

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Maintaining and strengthening community relationships is also high on the list of the two police chiefs.

"Most of the guys we have on the department have been here a while and are community-oriented. It's about getting out there, being seen by the community, stopping and talking to residents and getting to know them," Buzanowski said. "The more you get to know them, the more they will talk to you, tell you things, give you tips. Building a good rapport with the community."

"We're here to work with the community," Lam added. "I like to say we have an open door policy. Anyone who has concerns, please come in and we'll address them."

Contact Tim Hahn at thahn@timesnews.com. Follow him on Twitter @ETNhahn.

This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: Erie County crime: New police chiefs take helm in North East, Wesleyville