Monday, April 23, 2012

Police Chief Chat

Drug watch: One of many serious issues we are having with the so called legal synthetic drugs, is that they are destroying lives. On April 11th, officers responded to Vienna Road to assist the Phelps County Regional Medical Center ambulance crew with a male subject who had smoked a synthetic drug. On scene, officers discovered that the male was having trouble breathing and was also hallucinating. The male’s emotional state was very erratic going from a happy giggle, to crying and being scared. The subject was unable to walk due to the increased tension in his muscles and he had difficulty communicating because his speech had been greatly impaired. When the subject was secured to the stretcher he thought he had lost his arm because he was unable to move due to the seat belts used to secure patients to the ambulance. Luckily the subject had family with him otherwise he would not have been able to call for help once the effects of the drug had taken affect.

This past week, the Rolla Police Department handled 651 calls for service. Of these calls there were: 26 arrests, 15 alarms, 21 accidents, 35 traffic complaints, 11 check the well being, 81 traffic stops, 31 disturbance (including domestics), 16 stealings, 1 death, 22 follow investigations, 15 suspicious nature, 18 assists of other agencies, 5 field interviews, 13 escorts, 7 leave without pays, 37 security checks, 27 animal control complaints. This call total is down 115 calls from last week, but still a busy week!

I would like to take this opportunity to brag on one of my own staff members, Lt. Jim Macormic. On Wednesday, April 11, 2012 Spo. Jason Copeland took a report of a stolen riding lawn mower taken from the Elm St. area. He gathered all the appropriate information and then notified all the officers to keep an eye out for it.

Then on Thursday, April 12, 2012, Lt. Jim Macormic was on his way home in the Newburg area and came up behind a truck with a riding mower in the bed that appeared to match the description of the stolen mower. Jim called in to confirm some identifiers and concluded that a Phelps County Sheriff Deputy should respond as this was in their jurisdiction. Further investigation revealed that Lt. Macormic had in fact located the stolen mower. Ultimately the property was recovered and one person was taken into custody for receiving stolen property. To add to his keen observation skills Lt. Macormic proved he is generous too. He went home, brought his personal truck and trailer to transport this mower back to RPD where it could be released to the grateful owner. Great job to everyone involved in this investigation and great job to Lt. Macormic!

This next entry is from Communications Supervisor Stacey Smith of Central Communications who writes: Last Friday, April 13, 2012, I had the honor of presenting a 9-1-1 hero award to Nolan Bell at Newburg Elementary School. On January 4, 2012 at approximately 6:11 pm I received a 9-1-1 call from a very brave young man. Nolan Bell, age 10, was reporting that there was a fire in his kitchen and that his father was trying to put it out. Even though fires can be very frightening and dangerous, Nolan was able to remain calm and he did exactly what he was supposed to do.

First of all, he got his brother outside and called 9-1-1 from outside the house. Nolan quickly told me his 9-1-1 address and phone number. He advised me exactly where the fire was and who was there. Nolan’s little brother wanted to go back into the house to check on their father, but Nolan was able to keep him safely outside and out of harm’s way. Nolan stayed on the line with me, following all of my instructions and answering all of my questions. Nolan’s father was able to get the fire out right before the fire department arrived on the scene. He did an awesome job too. Luckily no one was injured and this 9-1-1 emergency had a happy ending. Great job Nolan and thanks for the excerpt Stacey!

This past week we held our semi-annual departmental physical fitness test and also introduced vehicle #407, a 2012 Ford F150 which will be assigned to Animal Control Manager John Redshaw. This truck is the first brand new vehicle the Animal Control Division has received since 1995. It replaces a 1995 Ford F150 that had accrued over 100,000 service miles that will be auctioned.

On Friday April 20, 2012, members of the Rolla Police Department will be participating in the Special Olympics Regional Track and Field day event which will be held at the 787th Military Police Battalion on Ft. Leonard Wood. Our officers and members of the Missouri State Highway Patrol will be presenting medals to our Special Olympic athletes. Then on Saturday, April 21, 2012, our officers and members of the Missouri State Highway Patrol and the Phelps County Sheriff’s Department will be participating in the Kids Safety Day – MoCHIP Child Identification & Protection Program & Car Seat Safety Check at Denny Ford in Rolla from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. Members of the Masonic Lodge and Rolla Fire and Rescue will also be on hand.

Have a great week!

Chief Mark Kearse

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