CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) - Richwood is relying on state police and sheriff’s deputies for law enforcement after dissolving its police department.
The City Council voted earlier this month to dissolve the department because its four officers were not certified. The lack of certification prevented them from performing essential duties such as making arrests or carrying firearms, Mayor Bob Johnson told the Charleston Gazette (https://bit.ly/1k0vYru ).
“We had some issues obtaining certified officers or keeping certified officers on the small department,” he said.
Johnson said he is exploring ways to restore the police department but he does not have any concrete plans.
“I had some great personal hesitation about this entire process,” Johnson said.
John Daff, the father of one officer, is questioning the council’s decision because council members voted on it during an executive session. He is circulating a petition calling for an ethics investigation.
The State Open Government Meetings Act says votes may not be taken in executive session. Instead, the governing body may only vote once it reconvenes in an open meeting.
“I’m not trying to stir up any beef, but my son lost his job because of this,” Daff told the newspaper. “He’s a young man, he loves Richwood and he was hoping to make a difference. It’s hard to make a difference when you got people giving Richwood a black eye.”
He said his son, 20-year-old Shane Daff, had worked for the department for a year and had been accepted to undergo certification at the State Police Academy before the department was dissolved.
John Daff also said he is concerned about how the lack of a police force would affect the city.
State Police spokesman Lt. Michael Baylous said the agency is discussing ways for troopers to help patrol Richwood.
Nicholas County Sheriff David Hopkins said his deputies did not normally patrol Richwood, but now they are.
“I have 25 out of 26 deputies certified so I can afford to put some guys over there more often,” he said.
Last week, state police arrested one of the former Richwood officers in the December theft of prescription pain pills from a police evidence room. Gerald Paul Tinney Jr., 42, was charged with breaking and entering and delivery of a controlled substance last week.
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Information from: The Charleston Gazette, https://www.wvgazette.com
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