ST. ALBANS POLICE
DEPARTMENT
ANNUAL REPORT
2016
1
ROSTER FOR 2016
Chief of Police:
Deputy Chief:
Captain:
Michael L. Matthews
Patrick M Farry II
James P. Agee (Retired June 2016)
Lieutenant:
Lieutenant:
Lieutenant:
Lieutenant:
Lieutenant:
Dave C. Harris (Retired May 2016)
Michael J. Dlugos
Marc A. Gilbert
Mark A. Burdette
Ricky A. Tincher
Sergeant:
Sergeant:
Sergeant:
Sergeant:
Sergeant:
Richard A. Thomas (Retired medically)
Philip A. Bass
Michael K. Elkins
Daniel F. Wyatt
Brandon L. Tagayun
Patrolman:
Patrolman:
Patrolman:
Patrolman:
Patrolman:
Patrolman:
Patrolman:
Patrolman:
Patrolman:
Patrolman:
Patrolman:
Patrolman:
Patrolman:
Patrolman:
Patrolman:
Patrolman:
Patrolman:
Christopher T. Lowe
Jacob M. Dent
Shelia L. McCuskey
Matthew J. Martin
Brandon J. Perry
Aaron C. Truitt
Jeffrey D. Lucas
Dwight D. Meadows (Resigned January 2016)
David D. Griffith
Nicholas T. Francisco
Jonathan D. Puffenbarger
Travis L. Parsons (Resigned April 5, 2016)
Jared M. Austin
Derrick M. Scott (Hired May 16)
Tyler L. Mullins (Hired May 16)
Mark W. Fisher (Hired December 5)
Levi W. Pardee (Hired December 5)
Clerk:
Clerk:
Dee Kemper (Resigned September 2016)
Donna Neal
2
Acknowledgements
This report is compiled and written by Deputy Chief Farry at the direction of Chief
Matthews. However, without information supplied by our Police Clerk, Ms. Neal and
the Municipal Court Clerk, Ms. Wendy Ruiz this report could not be done.
A MESSAGE FROM THE CHIEF:
I am glad to once again present another year-end report. Once again, I want to thank Deputy
Chief Farry for compiling it and I want to thank Ms. Neal, & Mrs. Ruiz for their assistance in getting
this report completed. I also want to thank those ladies for their outstanding work not only
during this year, but in years previous. Our civilian staff continues to keep us moving.
I want to thank the officers as well. They continue to serve this City in all types of conditions.
They continue to give quality service to the citizens of St. Albans even as their calls for service
continue to climb. I continue to get messages, emails, or phone calls from citizens who
appreciate their daily service.
I want to express my appreciation to Mayor Callaway, City Hall staff and to the members of City
Council. They continue to listen to me and my concerns about the Department and our place
within the City government. We again built up this Department to the largest it’s ever been and
we hope to keep it there.
However, there is always room for improvement. I want to point out our lack of room in our
current location. This building was built in 1971 for a Department that existed at that time. Now
at a strength of 26 officers, we need more room for evidence storage, equipment storage,
interview rooms, and a conference room. We would like to have public reception areas to speak
with walk-in complainants privately without others knowing potentially private details of criminal
complaints and keeping them from being brought in to the Department. This prevents any
unauthorized access to confidential material which may be on bulletin boards or in officers’
workspaces.
We’ve just about done all we can with our existing space. Whether it’s adding to this building,
building a storage building, or building the Fire Department a new structure, we at the Police
Department are facing a continued problem of being out of room. Working in a space that is
grossly undersized effects the daily operation and efficiency of the department as a whole. It
also has an effect on the hiring and retention of officers. There are several existing buildings in
the City that I believe could be purchased and improved upon that could become great locations
for our Department. Some of these buildings that we could look at are the Mallory Building in
the 2300 of Maccorkle Ave, the Ayash Building on 6th Ave, or possibly even the old Parkway
Supermarket.
3
Another area in which we need improvement is pay. In recent years, our pay has been increased
in order to keep us somewhat competitive with other departments around us. However, it seems
as if we never can close the pay gap around us. It is a never ending battle as other departments
in our immediate area continue to elevate their pay giving us a disadvantage at hiring and
retaining highly qualified officers.
The increasing age of our department is always at the forefront. We have had many retirements
and resignations in the past few years. We currently have five officers that are vested in the
pension with over 20 years of service that could leave any day. The department would like to
see an expansion in the amount of sworn officers at the department to make it an easier
transition when officers leave for other departments or retire.
Replacing officers is a time-consuming task. We can’t just take people off the street and put them
in a police car and turn them loose. Candidates must complete physical testing, written testing,
background investigation, medical physical, psychological exam, the State Police Academy, and
field training in order to begin to function on their own as a police officer. This process can take
at LEAST nine months to complete. It could take longer depending on availability of spots at the
Academy, which are becoming scarcer as the WV State Police are cutting back on the number of
classes available each year. It should be noted people can be disqualified at each stage of the
process which means starting all over again with someone else.
Finally, I want to again call for growing the City through annexation. There is a current application
for annexation with the Kanawha County Commission and I continue to urge the City to not let
this go and continue to fight and to push it through using all legal means necessary. This City
needs to expand to insure a more operational government for all and to insure the City’s ability
to grow. Eventually expanding down Route 817 to the interstate could open many doors for the
City in relation to growth and prosperity.
As I begin another year as your Chief, I want to remind everyone there are daily challenges that
we continue to face every day. It is only with the continued support of the citizens, the City
Council, the Mayor and the rest of the City Government that the officers of your Police
Department can continue to do their job.
4
2016: THE YEAR IN REVIEW
As has been the case for the last several years, the Department has been in a cycle of retirements,
hiring, and promotions. On a good note, once again, there were no homicides in the City this
past year. On a bad note, the plague of heroin, pills and methamphetamine continues to infect
the area. Almost daily, our officers come in to contact with these illegal substances as well as
used needles. Our officers also continue to be inundated with vehicle break-ins, burglaries, and
breaking and entering to out buildings that rise with the drug epidemic that is sweeping the
country. 2016 has also shown us a stark increase in stolen vehicles being reported and recovered.
The National Night Out in August was again a big hit. The one night event brought out several
hundred people to learn about a lot of the activities the City has to offer. They also had the
opportunity to drive a golf cart through an obstacle course wearing goggles that simulate the
feeling of intoxication. Thankfully, the drivers only ran over orange traffic cones.
Transitions:
5
Ptlm D.D. Meadows resigned in January 2016 to take a position with the Kanawha County
Sheriff’s Office.
Ptlm T.L. Parsons resigned on April 5, 2016.
Sgt R.A. Thomas medically retired
Lt. Dave Harris retired May 2016 after 27 years of service. He was eligible to immediately receive
a pension.
Captain J.P. Agee retired June 2016 after 27 years of service. He was eligible to immediately
receive a pension.
Dee Kemper resigned as Public Safety Clerk in September 2016.
Brandon Tagayun was promoted to Sergeant January 19, 2016 off an existing promotional list to
fill the vacancy created by Sgt. Thomas’ medical retirement.
Mike Farry was assigned as the Executive Officer on July 1, 2016.
City Council created, through city ordinance, the position of Deputy Chief which was to be
assigned by the Chief. Mike Farry was assigned to the position of Deputy Chief in December 2016.
Hiring:
We hired four officers off an existing list.
Ptl. Derrick Scott was hired on May 16, 2016. He successfully completed the 167th Basic Academy
Class.
6
Ptl. Tyler Mullins was hired on May 16, 2016. He successfully completed the 167th Basic Academy
Class.
Ptl. Wayne Fisher was hired December 5, 2016. He was not accepted into the January 2017
academy
Ptl. Levi Pardee was hired December 5, 2016. Pardee came to the St. Albans Police Department
via West Virginia University PD and has previously graduated the 166th Basic Academy Class.
7
National Drug Take Back Events:
There were two Take Back Events sponsored by the Drug Enforcement Administration. These
events seek to collect any unwanted, unused, or expired medications for safe destruction. The
results for our collection were:
April 17: 168.5
September 26: 58.2 lbs
Total: 226.7 lbs
8
Working with the DEA, were able to get a drop box
approved so citizens can have a place to drop such
medications on an everyday basis. This way they
won’t have to wait on a Take Back Event and
quickly get dangerous pills of potential abuse out
of their homes. This is of a great concern to those
who have been taking care of an ill loved one or
those who are cleaning out the house of a recently
deceased loved one. Pictured at right, we use an
old mail box that we’ve placed in our lobby.
Assignments:
Det. C. T. Lowe still assigned to DEA Group 31 out of Charleston, WV as a DEA Task Force Officer.
Det. Brandon Perry is still assigned to MDENT, the Kanawha-Charleston based drug unit.
Ptl. J. D. Puffenbarger moved from Road Patrol to the position of School Resource Officer
Lt. M. A. Gilbert, Ptl. M. J. Martin and Ptl. D. D. Griffith were transferred from Special Enforcement
Unit back to Patrol.
P. M. Farry II was assigned to the newly created position of Deputy Chief.
CITATIONS:
The following numbers are provided by Ms. Wendy Ruiz, Municipal Court Clerk
Year
Magistrate
Municipal
2016
282
2117
2015
17
1791
2014
16
1777
2013
39
1899
2012
38
1272
2011
83
1166
2010
287
272
Of the Municipal Court violations, the following can be observed over the past two years:
Traffic Citations
2016
1192
2015
1361
2014
882
9
Criminal Citations
Shoplifting
541
129
440
119
395
238
It is easily seen that Traffic Citations have declined since the previous year (12% decrease).
Criminal Violations are up (23% increase) as well as Shoplifting charges (8% increase).
SAPD officers issued 414 parking citations. The Humane Officer issued 8 citations but picked in
excess of 200 animals.
CRASHES
2016
228
2015
282
2014
250
2013
264
2012
320
2011
295
2010
305
2009
312
Crashes were down greatly (19%). This is the 4th year in a row of crashes being under 300 on the
year and is the lowest in recent memory. Aggressive traffic enforcement and visibility is likely
the reason for this continued low numbers.
10
Complaint Reports
2016
1640
2015
1676
2014
1265
2013
1357
2012
1136
2011
1135
2010
1129
2009
1088
2008
1138
Reports stayed steady with a slight drop over the past year. It should be noted that certain crimes
like Auto Tampering, drug offenses and auto thefts are increasing from recent years. Crimes like
these are best fought by officers being visible on patrol, stopping and talking to people walking,
and the public calling in suspicious persons in their neighborhoods. This crime in particular occurs
during hours of darkness.
ARRESTS
Total Arrests
Felony Arrests
DUI Arrests



2012
368
59
49
2013
622
144
42
2014
638
147
40
2015
881
134
32
2016
1022
138
14
Felony arrests have been stable going back to 2013
Comparing the drop in DUI arrests to the drop in Traffic Citations points to fewer people
committing driving infractions. With the large amount of traffic stops, one would expect
if people were drinking and driving at the same rate, our DUI arrests would see a similar
increase to approximately 60
SAPD officers have continued doing formal arrests for Shoplifting but have went back
issuing citations for Driving on Suspended cases. We have went back to issuing citations
for Driving on Suspended in an effort to trim time that it takes in arresting these offenses
in an effort to keep officers on the road longer.
SPECIAL ENFORCEMENT UNIT
Current SEU personnel: (Not Active since mid-year 2016)
11



Lt. Marc Gilbert, Commander
Det. M. J. Martin
Det. D. D. Griffith
As stated earlier, the personnel changed in the SEU. They continue their work on quality of life
crimes, drug investigations, and working with MDENT and the DEA Task Force on investigations.
They also assist road patrol with serious and extended investigations like that of Armed Robbery,
Credit Card Fraud, Burglaries, & B&E.
SEU reported the following activity for the year:
Misd.
Arrests
Misd.
Charges
Felony
Arrests
Felony
Charges
203
270
172
555
586
412
85
72
29
122
122
39
2014
2015
2016
Traffic
Citations Investigations
114
139
46
274
277
159
METRO 911 DISPATCH ACTIVITY
CALL ACTIVITY HISTORY
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
10,988
10,585
10,131
11,213
11,139
10,332
10,471
11,324
11,947
The above numbers reflect the activity recorded with METRO Dispatch. Specifically, the numbers
mean one of three things:
1) An officer is dispatched to a call by METRO
2) An officer self-initiates an activity like a vehicle or pedestrian stop or some other incident
witnessed on patrol
3) An officer marks in-service, assigned some special detail like a parade or distance run
As you can see the call activity has increased again to almost 12,000 calls for service. The number
of calls for service represent an average of approximately 33 calls per day.
Traffic Stops:
2008
1,552
2009
1,373
2010
973
2011
1,889
2012
2,267
2013
2,135
2014
1,730
2015
2,743
2016
2251
12
DRUG INVESTIGATIONS
SAPD is involved with two task forces. The Metro Drug Enforcement Network Team (MDENT) is
a Kanawha County based team headed by the Charleston Police Department. The Putnam
County Drug Task Force is a Putnam County based team headed by the Putnam County Sheriff’s
Department. It is also a DEA (Drug Enforcement Administration) task force. While we have been
a part of MDENT since the 1980s, we just joined the Putnam County unit in 2015. We have one
officer assigned to each unit.
Here are some highlights from confiscations by MDENT in the past year:









202.25 lbs of marijuana (down 16% from about 241 lbs in 2014)
819.02 grams of powder cocaine
379.58 grams of crack cocaine
2,539.73 grams of heroin (up 15% from about 2,200 grams in 2014)
8,488.75 various prescription pills
3,832.78 grams of methamphetamine (up 105% from 2014)
$912,014 in cash
Arrested 269 people (they arrested 268 last year)
Processed only 9 meth labs (smuggled meth has replaced locally manufactured meth)
Although there were sharp drops in seizures of cash, powder & crack cocaine, and prescription
pills, with virtually the same numbers of persons arrested it’s likely due to the cases just being
smaller in nature.
13
END OF
REPORT
14