Pennsylvania troopers take on roles helping communities, police with racially charged crimes
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Two Pennsylvania state troopers with a penchant for connecting communities with police officers are taking on full-time roles that will entrench them in the local area.
Greensburg native Cpl. Aaron Allen and Trooper Ismail El-Guemra of the Carlisle area will work with community groups, police agencies and local residents in the region as part of the department’s Heritage Affairs Section.
“I truly believe that this unit has made a huge impact already,” Allen said.
“I have a lot of passion for it,” El-Guemra said. “As an immigrant, I love to go speak to a community group.”
Troopers involved in the state police Heritage Affairs Section build relationships with historically underserved communities and law enforcement agencies. Members can help prevent and investigate crimes related to hate and bias, as well as serve as a resource to residents. Four full-time Heritage Affairs Liaison Officers statewide, including Allen and El-Guemra, recently were added to the unit and will be dedicated solely to that mission.
El-Guemra, 38, a native of Morocco, was assigned to a 16-county area that includes Indiana and Westmoreland. Allen, 31, will work in a 19-county area that includes Allegheny, Armstrong, Butler, Fayette and Washington.
But given his history in Westmoreland County, Allen said he plans to work with El-Guemra whenever needed. Allen worked on patrol with Troop A in Indiana and Greensburg before becoming a recruitment coordinator in the area. He has been working part-time with the heritage affairs unit since 2018.
During that time, Allen has been involved in the aftermath of the October 2018 Tree of Life synagogue shooting in Squirrel Hill and the June 2018 death of Antwon Rose after he was fatally shot by a police officer in East Pittsburgh. He has worked recently with police in Mt. Lebanon, Upper St. Clair, Monroeville and Clairton as they prepared for protests.
“Those incidents, they really stir up community tension and racial tension,” he said. “Any type of outreach that we need to do to reduce tension in the area, we will do.”
Allen visited East Pittsburgh Tuesday for a food distribution and plans to return there this weekend for a back-to-school supply giveaway. That’s the kind of stuff he loves to do — connect with kids and serve as a role model.
“My background is a lot like the underserved communities,” he said. “My upbringing isn’t the traditional upbringing that you think a police officer would traditionally have.”
El-Guemra also loves to talk to young people in the community and try to help them succeed. He had been a patrol trooper since 2015 with Troop H, which covers a section of south-central Pennsylvania.
Last week, he helped investigate after a swastika was painted on a Jewish synagogue in Harrisburg.
“A hate crime does not affect only just one person, but it extends to the whole community,” he said. “That will expand to the whole community of Jewish faith.”
El-Guemra said his background can be a benefit to authorities and immigrants when both are involved in an investigation.
“I can see both sides, so I am teaching one party how to deal with the other party,” he said. “If we’re not talking to each other, learning from each other, it will be tough.”
Both El-Guemra and Allen encouraged residents to report hate or bias-related crimes to authorities. Two other heritage affairs liaison officers are assigned to separate sections in the eastern part of the state.