Police Chief Chat

I hope everyone had the opportunity to enjoy the 3 day weekend and were able to spend quality time with friends and family. This week’s column will feature our first weekly edition where we will spotlight one of our 9 current Volunteers in Police Service (VIPS) volunteers. Our first featured VIPS volunteer is not only our first volunteer, but so far, is our first and only female volunteer. I am speaking of none other than Katherine W. Mattison! Katherine joined our program in February of 2009 and expressed an interest in providing courtesy calls to our crime victims. This is a very valuable service to our agency in that we learn from the victims how they felt they were treated during this intense time and also learn how we can better serve them in the future. Katherine has a lengthy background in administration and has been employed with the Department of Geological Sciences & Engineering at Missouri S&T for over 31 years! Katherine lists her reason for joining VIPS as an opportunity to assist officers of the Rolla Police Department in a capacity that is not possible with such busy schedules. She correctly describes the courtesy call program as a vehicle to show the caring side of RPD. Katherine is originally from Birch Tree, Missouri but has been in Rolla since 1968. She is a St. Louis Cardinal fan and also supports MS&T basketball. Thanks Katherine, for all you do!

Our next featured spotlight is Cpl. Derrick Dillon of our Patrol Division. Derrick took 1st place in our Officer of the Week campaign featured on our Rolla Police Department Facebook page last week. Derrick grew up in Rolla and was hired at the Rolla Police Department as a patrol officer in January of 2004. Derrick graduated from the Law Enforcement Training Institute in Columbia with a certification in law enforcement in April of 2004. In April of 2006 Derrick was promoted to Senior Patrol Officer then to Corporal in September of 2006. Derrick serves as assistant shift supervisor and is a SWAT Team member. Derrick is also a Certified Chemical Munitions Instructor and Hostage Negotiator. He is married and has 4 children and enjoys carpentry, sports, photography and spending time with his family. Congratulations on your nomination for Officer of the Week!

Last week Spo. Jason Copeland and Spo. Jaime Solis initiated a traffic stop on an individual for a driving offense. When the officers approached the vehicle they detected the odor of marijuana. Investigation led to a consensual search of the suspects residence and with the assistance of Cpl. Derrick Dillon, Pto. Jessie Hoyt and Pto. Steve Roukie, several items considered drug paraphernalia and a quantity of marijuana was seized. 2 Missouri S&T students were arrested and later released on summons. Great work guys and gals!

On Thursday of this week, Allen C. May age 24, of Rolla was sentenced to 46 months in prison on federal charges of possession of child pornography. May plead guilty in September of 2009 to three felony counts of possession of child pornography. He appeared in court on Thursday before United States District Judge Donald J. Stohr for sentencing. In a separate unrelated case, Allen May’s father, James H. May age 51, of Rolla was sentenced to 41 months in prison on 5 felony counts of possession of child pornography. James May plead guilty in September of 2009 to felony possession of child pornography. Both defendants will be subjected to a lifetime of supervised release after serving their prison terms.

This case was brought as part of the Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May of 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by United States Attorney’s Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the internet, as well as identify and rescue victims. United States Attorney Richard G. Callahan commended the work on the case by the Rolla Police Department, Missouri Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, the Regional Computer Crimes Education and Enforcement Group and Assistant United States Attorney Rob Livergood, who handled the cases for the US Attorney’s Office.

Have a great week!