at work

ADAIR COUNTY CONSTABLE DISTRICT 6 and CARTER COUNTY CONSTABLE
KENTUCKY

CONSTABLE JASON RECTOR, ADAIR COUNTY

Adair County is a rural community of 17,000 residents located in south-central Kentucky about two hours from both Louisville and Frankfort. The difference in size between Adair County and those two major cities is significant, but the gap is closing as each decade slips into history. According to Constable Jason Rector, the county is growing at a rate not seen in quite some time.

“Adair is expanding with projects like the new justice center, bypass, Super Center Wal-Mart, and Heartland Parkway. Although we have a somewhat rural setting, we are located directly on the Louie B. Nunn Parkway. This gives access to all the major interstates,” he said.

In Kentucky, constables are fee-based and do not receive a budget or any financial assistance from their county government. Constables are not paid a salary and purchase all of their own equipment.

“My office budget is zero dollars,” Rector said.

Under Kentucky law (KRS 64.190), constables may collect fees for the following services:

Making an arrest for violations involving a motor vehicle on the public highways 50¢
Taking up a vagrant - 50¢
Destroying a rabid dog - $1.00
Destroying and burying a distempered horse, ass or mule - $3.00
Destroying and burying any other livestock, per head - $2.00
Altering a stud, jackass or bull - $1.00

Constables may also receive fees from the state treasury (KRS 64.060) for providing the following services:

Apprehending a person on charge of felony, or a fugitive from justice charged with a felony in Kentucky - $10.00
Executing a process of contempt in a criminal case when the court excuses the contempt - $1.60
Executing a summons upon a witness on behalf of the Commonwealth in a felony case - $3.00
Summoning and attending a jury in a case of felony - $2.50

Constables receive mileage and expenses for taking or assisting in taking adult prisoners to the penitentiary or another jail (KRS 64.070).

In response to his request for assistance, the USDSA donated a digital portable breath tester and a radar unit to the District Six Constable’s office.

“Thank you so much for the equipment. To have an organization like yours to help us out at no cost is almost unbelievable. I’m very proud to be a member of the USDSA,” Rector said.

SHERIFF KEVIN MCDAVID, CARTER COUNTY

Carter County, home of Country Music Hall of Fame singer/songwriter Tom T. Hall, is the third largest county in the state, in terms of geographic size. Constable Phillip Blevins is one of five elected constables that serve the approximately 12,000 residents.

“We do not receive any assistance from the state or the county. I supply my own gas, car, and equipment. Every now and then I’ll be contacted to serve a paper and make a little money, but that usually goes back in my gas tank,” Blevins told The Deputy Sheriff Magazine. “I have been able to purchase my own ballistic vest and radar gun, but I’m still lacking basic equipment.”

Two of the items Blevins needed was a video camcorder for his car and a shotgun. Blevins received both items courtesy of the USDSA Equipment Donation Program.

“I can’t tell how much I appreciate this. It would have been up to me to buy both of them had you guys not helped out,” he said.
Blevins said his job is made a little easier due to the positive working relationship he has developed with the Carter County Sheriff’s Office. Not every constable in Kentucky can make the same statement.

“They allow me to do about anything I want. Although I’m technically not allowed to have lights on my car, the sheriff’s office here has never made an issue of it. Other counties do not allow the constables to have lights on their car. Some of them are not even allowed to talk on the county radio. I just don’t understand that. Some of the counties like us and some don’t. It’s really hard to understand what’s going on across the state. We’re all here to do the same job. Unfortunately, not everybody sees it that way. I try to do my job in a professional manner like any other police officer. I’m the only constable ever in Carter County to have attended training courses. A couple of weeks ago I took the eight-hour course to be able to carry a stun gun. A former police officer from Texas who is in charge of security at a local hospital is working on getting me a stun gun. His boss was able to equip the Boyd County Sheriff’s Office with stun guns. The stun gun is a good non-lethal weapon,” he said.

“Because I retired from the construction business earlier this year, I’ll be working more, so a stun gun would be great to have,” he said.

An opportunity to acquire more training made itself available on March 15th as the USDSA provided a free training seminar hosted by the Kentucky Constables Association in the city of Elizabethtown. The training focused on handcuffing and baton use as well as some basic defensive tactics. “We really appreciate you guys going out of your way to help us,” he said.

Blevins said he is not the first person in his family to enter the law enforcement profession.
“My uncle was sheriff for two terms years ago. He did a good job, but things were different back then. Law enforcement has changed a lot since he was sheriff,” Blevins pointed out.

“But I sure do appreciate what the Association is doing for constables in my state. I’m sincerely grateful for what you’ve done for me and other constables like me in Kentucky.”

CHEYENNE COUNTY SHERIFF'S OFFICE
COLORADO


       CHEYENNE COUNTY COURTHOUSE

If you were a business person and knew that you could start a company in a community where everyone wanted and needed your services and your business would be the only one in the county that could supply those services, you would most likely jump at that kind of opportunity. Being the only game in town would be quite appealing when considering a commercial venture. On the other hand, when you are the sheriff in a small county with an extremely limited budget and a staff of three full-time deputies, a monopoly on services becomes another matter entirely.

Cheyenne County is located in eastern Colorado along the Kansas-Colorado border.

The county has an area of 1,800 square miles and a population of less than 2,000. The economy is mainly agriculturally-based with a little natural gas and oil. For Sheriff Virgil Drescher and his staff, responsibilities have increased, but the county budgets have not.

“Our county has limited resources to spend on law enforcement,” according to Deputy Jimmy Rivera. “Our sheriff as well as our undersheriff work patrol. We have three full-time deputies and one part-time. Patrol deputies also double as detention officers when the need arises. Our dispatchers also serve as jailers for our 15-bed jail.”

The Cheyenne Sheriff’s Office is the lone law enforcement agency in the county. The cities within the county are not large enough to support independent police departments.

“We patrol two incorporated towns, Kit Carson and Cheyenne Wells. There is never more than two deputies on the road at any given time,” said Rivera.

In his request for assistance, Rivera placed ballistic vests at the top of the list.

“Our vests are completely antiquated. Vests are our number one priority,” he said. Rivera’s request for equipment is not the first time the Cheyenne County Sheriff’s Office has contacted the USDSA for assistance. In 2002, the Association donated portable breath testers and a video camcorder to then Sheriff James Lafferty. Lafferty stated at the time that “some of our biggest problems with alcohol stem from kids having parties out in the country and drinking.” The camcorder was utilized for recording traffic stops, interviews, and crime scenes.

All to aware of the limited resources available to Sheriff Drescher and his deputies, the USDSA approved a donation of enough threat level II vests to outfit the entire patrol division.

“On behalf of Sheriff Drescher, I would like to express our gratitude for your generous donation to our agency. It is a humbling experience to receive your support,” Rivera wrote in a letter to the USDSA. “As a small agency, we struggle to provide our personnel with that which bigger agencies take for granted. We extend our thanks.”

In Columbia County, Arkansas, situated in the southwest corner of the state, the sheriff’s department has Sheriff Calvin Knighton and nine full-time deputies to serve and protect over 25,000 residents and 750 miles of roads and highways. In addition to the unincorporated areas of Columbia County, the sheriff’s office also supplies law enforcement needs to several small towns that do not have the financial resources for a police department of their own. And with only nine deputies to cover the county, it is impossible to put more than two units on the street during any particular shift.

As is the case with most small agencies, Columbia County deputies are required to perform a number of duties outside of patrolling the streets and highways. Road units are also expected to serve civil papers and warrants, assist with traffic accidents, and fulfill any administrative assignments that may arise while still finding time to respond to calls for service.

“We work rotating shifts. We work a month on days and then a month on graveyard.
Just about the time you get adjusted to one, you’re switched back to the other. We just don’t have enough people to go to eight hour shifts,” said Columbia County Deputy and USDSA member Scott Young.

Deputy Young has been a patrol deputy with Columbia County for about a year and a half. He began his employment as a jailer five years ago, left to go to work for another department, graduated from the academy, and returned to the sheriff’s department in 2006.

Being a member of the USDSA, Young is well aware of the hundreds of small departments the Association has supportedover the years by donating needed items through its equipment donation program.

“We are very limited as far as money for equipment and other essentials,” Young said during a telephone interview. “Several of us are working without equipment that we need or with equipment that is completely outdated. The equipment we can buy ourselves doesn’t amount to much. The radar unit in my car was purchased back in the 1960s or 70s and doesn’t work half the time.”

In an attempt to help bring the Columbia County Sheriff’s Department into the 21st Century, the USDSA donated two hand held/stationary radar units and two digital portable breath testers to Deputy Young and his colleagues.

“DWI’s are a problem in our county. Columbia is a dry county, but we have wet counties that surround us as well as drunk drivers traveling to and from Louisiana. That’s on top of the bootleggers here in our county. We run into DWI’s or possible DWI’s during just about every shift. Although the tester is not admissible in court, it adds one more part to our field sobriety test,” Young said.

“We try to have a radar gun in each car on both shifts because we all try and control the speeds on the road and county highways. Highway 82 basically runs through the entire south end of the state. Highway 371 connects from Louisiana all the way to the interstate and above. We also use the radar as a probable cause tool for drug interdiction purposes.

On behalf of the sheriff and all of us here, I certainly do appreciate the help. I know that you guys have several requests sent to you everyday and I’m grateful there is someone out there devoted to helping small departments like ours.”

Custer County employs seven full-time deputies under the direction of Sheriff Fred Jobe. Sheriff Jobe and his deputies cover 800 square miles in south-central Colorado.

“Our population ranges from four thousand in the winter to ten thousand in the summer,” according to Deputy Tom Abbott.
Deputy Abbott is one of three part time patrol deputies for the sheriff’s office.

“I’ve been with Custer County for about ten years. I’ve been in law enforcement since the early eighties starting back in Ohio. I worked in Colorado Springs for about ten years before coming here. I’d rather be this than just about anything else,” he said. Even when he is not patrolling the roads and highways or working in dispatch as a deputy for Custer County, Abbott’s other profession allows him to maintain his public safety persona.

“I also do EVOC (Emergency Vehicle Operator Course) training for police departments and corporate entities. I started training back in the 1970’s when no one knew what driver training was. I’ve trained local governments, state governments, and federal services all over the United States,” he said.

The sheriff’s office is the only law enforcement agency in the county. The sheriff has contracted with the incorporated areas to provide needed services. The sheriff’s office also works most of the auto accidents that occur in the county since the Colorado State Patrol does not have a trooper stationed in Custer.

Several years ago, the sheriff’s office was hit with a hiring freeze as well as a significant reduction to its budget that is still affecting the department today. Deputy positions were lost and not replaced. Hopes for new patrol vehicles and new equipment were never realized.

“Our budget has only decreased while the caseload has increased,” the veteran deputy said.

Being a member since 2001, Abbott contacted the USDSA in hopes of obtaining alcohol detection equipment. The Association responded by awarding Custer County with two digital portable breath testers.

“We’re a small county, but we still have the same problems that everyone else does,” Abbott told The Deputy
Sheriff Magazine. “Last year we were fortunate enough to get a grant that allowed us to conduct nine or ten DUI checkpoints. That was the main reason that I requested what I did. The PBT’s are fine. We’re always short on them and you can never have enough. We’ve had some in the past, but they either got broken or they disappeared. At the present time, I think we’ve got one for patrol and one for the jail, that’s it. We’re really, really short, so this is going to be a big help for us.”

Deputy Christina Ross wears a lot of hats for the Faulkner County Sheriff’s Department. The former patrol deputy’s assignments include just about anything and everything that involves the ‘not-so-glamorous-but-vital’ aspect of law enforcement.

“I handle the administration part for the deputies. I’m the grant writer, I do the reports, and handle everyone that comes in,” she said. “I’m no longer on the highway. I’m strictly in the office.”

Faulkner County is 664 square miles in size and maintains a population in the neighborhood of 100,000 people. That number is expected to increase yearly.

“Our county seat of Conway is the most rapidly growing city in Arkansas,” according to Ross.
The sheriff’s department has 22 full-time patrol deputies. With 100,000 residents, that results in one deputy for every 4,500 residents.

“Often times we have only one deputy on for the entire county. On a really good day, we might have three. But most of the time, it’s only one or two. Because of that, we often require assistance from the smaller communities because it takes 45 minutes to drive from the southern part to the northern part of the county. In an emergency situation, that can put us in a real bind when my officers are by themselves,” Ross explained.

In her request for assistance from the USDSA, Ross listed portable breath testers as a vital need for her department.

“Faulkner County deputies have an above average arrest rate for DWI’s. We hold bi-weekly DWI voluntary saturations. This is an opportunity for our deputies to work extra hours, in addition to their regular duties. Many of our deputies have been awarded the Arkansas Highway Safety Award given by Arkansas State Police Highway Safety Office.
This award is based on the number of arrests for persons that are DWI.”

Although Faulkner has major highway arteries and interstates dissecting the county in all directions, Ross says that is not where most of the alcohol-related arrests are made.

“When we do saturations, we do not work the highway at all,” she during a phone interview. “We work the back roads. That’s where officers get these DWI’s. Sometimes we can get nine in a night. It’s extremely high.”

Ross said that a person can have a certain amount of alcohol in his or her possession legally in her county. However, you cannot purchase alcohol or distill your own.

“You can purchase alcohol in surrounding counties like Pulaski County. Little Rock is located in Pulaski. They buy it elsewhere and bring it back into Faulkner. Last year, I arrested a 15-year old teenage boy with an open container on Highway 64. He didn’t have a license or anything.”

To help combat the alcohol offenses in Faulkner County, the USDSA donated two digital breath testers to Deputy Ross and her colleagues. The department also received two 12 gauge shotguns to be placed in patrol units for extra firepower.

“We have a terrible problem with methamphetamines. In fact, I think Arkansas ranks first or second in the United States in the use and production of meth. It’s a very dangerous situation.”

When asked how she became familiar with the USDSA, Ross said she has always known about the 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization created for the purpose of assisting those agencies like hers.

“You are extremely well-known in this area. I don’t know of a time since I’ve been a deputy that I didn’t know about you. I’m a deputy and there are not that many organizations out there that focus on deputy sheriffs. You guys do, and you help.”

Live Oak County Chief Deputy Glenn Thompson has been a peace officer in Texas for 28 years. He began his career as a reserve deputy with the San Patricio Sheriff’s Office in 1980. He joined the Live Oak Sheriff’s Office in 1984, and became chief deputy in 1995.

“I worked for the city of Aransas Pass for about 3 ½ or 4 years before I went to work here,” the veteran law enforcer told The Deputy Sheriff Magazine in an interview over the phone.

Live Oak County encompasses over a 1,000 square miles of south Texas. Including Sheriff Larry Busby, the sheriff’s office employs nine full-time officers. The county population hovers right around 12,000.

In addition to burglaries, thefts, domestic violence, and other more common criminal offenses that burden most all law enforcement agencies large or small, Live Oak deputies also encounter drug traffic and illegal aliens being smuggled into the U.S. from Mexico on a daily basis.

“We’ve got three major highways coming through here, so there are lots of drugs and illegal aliens coming up out of the valley,” Thompson said. “If we capture aliens, we hand them over to the border patrol. Right now, they are working some operations down here along the border. They will work in stages all the way from El Paso down to Brownsville, then moving in steps into the interior counties. Through a program called Border Star, the feds are paying overtime for officers to work extra on their time to work the highways for drug interdiction, money, and illegal aliens coming up out of Mexico. I think we’re about to go into another one of those here in the next couple of weeks. The operation usually lasts about three weeks, and then they’ll move to another set of counties. We usually make quite a few arrests on these operations. On the last one we worked, another investigator and myself had one stop where we found 13 aliens in one pickup truck. Another arrest was the result of a warrant out of another county. The suspect had an illegal in the truck with him, so we arrested both of them.”
Money seizures, according to Chief Thompson, are also a common occurrence.

“We’ve had several seizures here in the last few years mainly through the highway patrol. They’ve made several stops of almost a million dollars,” he said.

With Live Oak deputies facing potentially life-threatening situations everyday involving drugs, money, and illegal aliens, it is hard to believe that over half of their patrol officers are doing their duty without ballistic vest protection. The request by Live Oak County was for five vests. The request was approved.

“Anything you’re going to find in Houston, you’re going to find it here, just not as much of it,” he said. “Our deputies are charged with doing a lot of investigative work. Domestic disturbance calls and things like that are pretty routine. We’ve even had one or two bank robberies since I’ve been here. We run about 300 offense folders a year, and that’s not counting calls like noise disturbances, cattle in the road, and stuff like that. All of our cars are one-man cars, and if you need backup, it’s going to be fifteen to twenty minutes away most of the time. So, we really do appreciate the help.”

McDonald County is located in the southwest corner of Missouri bordering Oklahoma and Arkansas. By Missouri standards, McDonald is considered average in size spanning 560 square miles with a mainly rural population of almost 30,000.

“We have experienced a drastic increase in population in our area in the last few years. This has brought with it an increased need for law enforcement services. The sheriff’s office has had to assume more responsibility for the incorporated areas of the county as well,” according to Deputy Bill Davenport.

“McDonald County is a tourist community that has several waterways and campgrounds that attract thousands of tourists each year during the summer months. With the increased tourist traffic during the summer, we see an increase in violent crimes, alcohol-related incidents including DWI’s, assault, domestic disturbances, public nudity, and public intoxication.”
The McDonald County Sheriff’s Office has a staff of 19 full-time deputies. Although the county may not be the largest or the most populated in Missouri, officers have few slow or uneventful days.

“We have a new four-lane highway that runs through the county with an increase in transient population of more than 22,000 vehicles a day. This has led to more accidents and driving complaints. The south end of U.S. Highway 71 that enters Arkansas is one of the busiest traffic areas in the county. It’s also the area of the county with the most traffic accidents due to the amount of businesses that are located there,” Davenport said.

According to statistics provided by the Missouri State Highway Patrol, 20 people died in McDonald County due to traffic accidents in 2006 – an increase of 50% compared to 2005. McDonald has averaged almost 13 traffic-related deaths per year over the last 10 years.

Deputy Davenport has been an active member of the USDSA since 2000. Shortly after becoming a member, the veteran law enforcer contacted the USDSA in need of body armor and training assistance.The Association awarded McDonald County six ballistic vests along with a financial donation that paid for two deputies to attend a tactical weapons class. The deputies not only passed along what they learned to members of their own department, they also shared their new knowledge with surrounding agencies as well.

“Due to budget constraints, our deputies are often required to purchase their own equipment, which is usually expensive and a hardship when they have to support their families as well,” Davenport explained.

In response to Davenport’s request, the USDSA approved the donation of three refurbished radar units to the McDonald County Sheriff’s Office.

“U.S. Highway 71 has become a major pipeline in the transportation of illegal narcotics from Mexico to other areas of the country. The donation of the radar equipment will assist our agency with illegal drug interdiction efforts and traffic safety issues,” Davenport said.

Ness County is centered between Kansas City, Kansas, and Denver, Colorado. The county seat, Ness City, is 40 miles south of I-70 at the intersection of US 283 and K-96. Ness County covers approximately 1,100 square miles with 102 miles of highway within its borders.

The Ness County Sheriff’s Department consists of Sheriff Bryan Whipple, six full-time deputies, one part-time, and one reserve. The department is responsible for providing law enforcement services to just over 3,000 residents.

“We are the only agency for seven communities within the county,” the sheriff said.

Sheriff Whipple has been the “top cop” in Ness County for seven years. Currently in his second term, he began his tenure with Ness County in 1995. In that time, some things have changed while others have not. A lack of funding for proper equipment is one of those areas that was a problem 13 years ago and remains one today.

“I found out about your Association through one of my deputies who found out about you guys by talking with an officer from another department. Basically, we were referred to you,” he said.

The sheriff said his deputies work “a lot of traffic” as well as investigations involving domestic violence and drugs.

“The methamphetamine situation is getting a little better, but it’s still a problem. We’re finding fewer methamphetamine labs, but the meth is still here,” according to Whipple.

“One of the reasons it’s getting a little better is due to the legislation that was passed here last year that put ephedrine behind pharmacy counters and made you sign for it to buy it. That helped a bunch. Before that, they could buy as much as they wanted.”

States have imposed restrictions in response to pseudoephedrine’s role as an ingredient used to produce methamphetamine.
The priority item in Sheriff Whipple’s request for equipment – body armor. The USDSA responded to the sheriff’s request by donating seven threat level II vests to Ness County.

“Right now, my deputies have to buy their own,” he said. “We appreciate the help very much."

At one time, the Okmulgee County Sheriff’s Office had a special operations team that responded to situations that required a tactical unit. However, for a conglomerate of reasons, the team disintegrated. Recently, Chief Deputy Smokey Patchin has taken it upon himself to resurrect the defunct tactical response team.

“I’m an instructor and have quite a bit of background, but I have a bunch of green guys who don’t have a lot of experience. We also don’t have any equipment. We’re starting with the bare minimum again,” Patchin explained. “By the time we get payroll knocked out, we’re looking at about $56,000 a year to operate on. My training budget this year was a $1,000 The instructor schools that I go to, I pay out of my own pocket because I want to give my guys as much quality training as I can. Fifty-six thousand doesn’t even cover our gas expense. We’re looking at a projected fuel cost of sixty-thousand this year, and that’s being frugal. We answered about seventy-two hundred calls for service last year which is about thirty-five hundred more calls from the year before. We’re just being run into the ground.”

To help with getting the team off the ground, the USDSA donated a ballistic entry shield to Chief Patchin and his tactical deputies.

“The shield is really going to help us out a lot because we’ve had a lot of bad incidents in the last three to six months that can really turn ugly,” he said. “I was on a search warrant about a year ago where we had a bad guy get shot. We had another agency assisting us. Fortunately, they had a shield, or it could have been ugly for us. We’re just south of Tulsa and get a lot of gang problems. We also have ignorant people who like to barricade up at times.

The shield affords us a little more protection getting to and from. It’s just going to be great.”
Patchin said he found out about the USDSA through a close friend who works for the Okfuskee County Sheriff’s Office. The Association donated several ballistic vests to Okfuskee County in 2007.

He told me that [the USDSA] does the training and hooks people up with equipment. So I got on the your website, started looking around, and decided to give you a call,” Patchin recalled.

Patchin is not only the chief deputy for Okmulgee, he also serves as the departments chief investigator. He assigns all of the cases and oversees all investigations.

“It just so happens that right now, I’m the lead guy going in on our entry team. I’ll continue in that role until I can get some of my other guys trained and ready. Once that happens, I’ll get behind the scope and be a long range rifle for them,” he said.
Chief Patchin grew up in the county he now serves. His father was a school teacher in the community for years.
“I actually live in Okfuskee and commute back and forth,” he said.

Patchin has been with the Okmulgee Sheriff’s Office since 2003. Prior to that, he worked for a police department in Okfuskee County.

“In terms of funding, there’s just nothing for sheriff’s offices’ here in Oklahoma. We beg, borrow, and steal from each other,” Patchin said. “That’s why I can’t stress enough how much we appreciate what you guys are doing for us. Thank you very much for being there for small departments like ours. Without organizations like yours, we would be left at the mercy of the wolves.”