The Cranston Police Department has been awarded a scholarship established in memory of a Florida officer and designed to help train and equip tactical teams.

Maj. Robert Ryan on April 25 announced Cranston submitted the winning entry for the Stephen House SWAT Life: Brothers for Adversity Scholarship, a national award established by American Tactical Entry Accessories Manufacturing.

Cranston was selected for the 2014 award from a group of nearly 500 applicants across the nation. The Cranston Police Tactical Team will receive approximately $1,500 worth of much needed equipment used for tactical breaching during emergency operations.

“I would like to applaud the efforts of Officer Nathan Bagshaw, who took it upon himself to research funding opportunities for the Cranston Police Department to ensure that the Special Reaction Team has all the equipment it needs to continue to operate at a high level,” Ryan said. “This is above and beyond the scope of his normal responsibility, but it is a testament to his steadfast commitment to the Cranston Police Department and the officers he so proudly serves with.

“I would also like to thank American Tactical Entry Accessories Manufacturing and the SWAT Life: Brothers for Adversity organization for providing this opportunity in memory of a true hero in Officer Stephen House and recognizing the Cranston Police Department as worthy of this fine award.”

The scholarship honors the memory of Stephen House, a Titusville, Fla., officer who was shot and killed on Feb. 15, 1989, while serving a high-risk narcotics search warrant. House served as the central Florida SWAT team leader.

Bagshaw, who serves as the Cranston department’s Special Reaction Team operator, personally researched grant possibilities online to help purchase tactical equipment and filed the application for the scholarship.