In hopes of being better prepared for a crisis, local law enforcement agencies are working to form a joint Park County Tactical Response Team.

Though the details have yet to be finalized, the Powell Police Department, Cody Police Department and Park County Sheriff’s Office are developing a memorandum of understanding for the new team.

Powell Police Chief Jim Rhea said the effort is aimed at preparing for any “critical incidents” that might require a tactical response — such as deploying crisis negotiators. That will include joint training on tactical situations to help all three agencies work together in a crisis.

“The idea is … to pool our resources — where we’re working together, we’re training together, and we’re using [the] maximum amount of resources whenever we have an incident, and everybody’s on the same page,” Rhea said.

At its Jan. 5 meeting, the Powell City Council unanimously voted to allow the city attorney firm of, Copenhaver, Kitchen & Kolpitcke, to work on the memorandum for the new tactical team; the council had to formally waive a conflict of interest, because the Powell firm also represents the City of Cody.