Cpl. Patton started in law enforcement in 2003 with the Berks County Sheriff’s Department, before being hired by the South Heidelberg Twp Police in 2006. In 2012, Cpl. Patton became the firearms and training instructor for the department after being certified by the Pennsylvania State Police and National Rifle Association. Believing that all skills are perishable, Cpl. Patton sought training from as many sources as possible holding instructor certifications from Homeland Security, NTOA and ALICE in Active Threat Response, as well as various firearms instructor and operator certifications from Blackwater USA, Vigr Training, Caliber Press, NRA and Pennsylvania State Police.

Sgt. Downs began his law enforcement career in the United State Army in 1987, serving deployments in Panama and Desert Storm. Sgt. Downs was then hired by the Kutztown Police Department in 1993 as a patrolman before moving to the Exeter Twp Police Department in 2003. He was then selected as one of the original members of the Berks County Emergency Response Team and held the position of assistant team leader for 10 years. Sgt. Downs was then assigned to be a K9 Officer, serving in that role for several years before being promoted to his current assignment as a patrol platoon supervisor. Sgt. Downs holds operator and instructor certifications in active threat response with Homeland Security, ALERT and NTOA in addition to an extensive catalog of firearms instructor and SWAT certifications while serving as a range officer with the Exeter police for 15 years.