Alexandria has formally reaffirmed its participation in the regional Northern Kentucky SWAT team following recent organizational changes.
The Alexandria City Council approved a resolution to enter an interlocal agreement with NKY SWAT at its meeting on Feb. 5. The city initially joined the regional SWAT team in 2023, when it was known as the Kenton County Regional SWAT team. At that time, the city dissolved its own team and merged it into the regional one. Alexandria had sponsored a SWAT team since around the mid-1990s.
Alexandria Police Chief Lucas Cooper said the updated resolution follows changes to the SWAT team’s bylaws. Cooper said he sat on the team’s executive board for about a year and a half as those bylaws were being rewritten. One of those major changes includes the name change.
“The name change for the team going from Kenton County SWAT over to Northern Kentucky SWAT because it now serves every agency in Campbell and Kenton County, with the exception of Covington,” Cooper said.
The other major change was to the way that the board is structured. For years, Cooper said, when Kenton County was the only county involved, the Kenton County sheriff was the head of the executive board. Now that Campbell County is included, the board was restructured so that the longest-tenured sheriff serves as the executive chief member which is Campbell County Sheriff Mike Jansen.
The Campbell County Fiscal Court recognized Jansen at its Jan. 21 meeting with a certificate of recognition for the appointment.
“Sheriff Jansen has served as a key contributor to the unit’s continued success and operational effectiveness, helping to ensure the safety of our communities in the most critical of circumstances,” Campbell County Judge/Executive Steve Pendery said at the Jan. 21 meeting.
Cooper said the team is top-notch. He said not long after the city joined the regional team in 2023, they used them for something in the city.
“The team is absolutely outstanding,” Cooper said. “They recently became a nationally accredited team. They had national certifiers come in and look at the way that they operate, train, and keep their records. This team is top-notch, and we’re lucky to have them should we need them here in the city.”