Grant awarded to improve police health

At the July 19, 2023, Libby City Council meeting, the LOR Foundation, a local philanthropic foundation, announced a grant aimed at helping police officers' physical and mental health.

Tabitha Viergutz, the Libby community officer for LOR, announced a grant for $16,840 that was awarded to the Libby Police Department.

The money will go toward purchasing and shipping workout equipment, including two PRX Performance Couple elite packages and a Concept Two rowing machine.

Chief of Police Cody Ercanbrack contacted the foundation in mid-May with the request, Viergutz said.

"He had the chore of rebuilding the force after its vacancies and with his background of keeping police officers at their highest level of health and excellence, he felt that these pieces were vital," Viergutz said.

Hopefully, everything will be finalized by Aug. 31, but if there is a delay due to backorders, the LOR Foundation will extend the grant.

"We just want our officers to be healthy. We want them to have a long healthy career," Ercanbrack said in the meeting.

"Certainly, we all support the chief and this is a good thing. It raises the larger question for me, of why didn't we have the money in our budget for this," city Police Commission member John Beebe said during the public comment. He added that he would like to see more funds delegated to help police officers.

The performance package comes with kettlebells and other equipment to keep Libby officers in good physical shape, Ercanbrack said in a recent interview. The more officers work out and stress their bodies, the more likely they will respond better in extreme situations.

"If an officer gets in a fight and they're really out of shape, then they are a lot more likely to use excessive force or deadly force," Ercanbrack said. "Whereas if I keep my officers in good shape, they can last a lot longer."

Exercise is one of the least used anti-depressants, so it's a good way for officers to burn off the stress of working in law enforcement. Regular exercise can help officers sleep well and have healthier careers.

At the moment, the force has donated equipment they are grateful for, but it is dated and due to be replaced, he said. The force will also be conducting bi-annual fitness testing that the new equipment will help them prepare for.

"It's just a huge passion of mine, growing up my dad being a doctor and my mom being a nurse, health has always been a huge priority for me and this is just another way that I can take that passion and put it into the department, as well as use that to help the community, with having healthier well-adjusted officers," he said.

The city council voted to approve the grant unanimously.