Myths & Facts

Myth: Our police officers write too many speeding tickets!

Fact: In 2008 only 7 speeding tickets were issued. There have been no speeding tickets issued

in 2009 as of yet.

Myth: The police let drunk drivers go because the local bar has given them donations in the past.

Fact: The police department has never received any donation from any business that serves alcohol as its primary source of revenue. The police department would definitely reject any such

donation.

Myth: The police department makes too many traffic stops because they are trying to be like

“Dexter!”

Fact: In 2008 the entire police department made only about 447 traffic stops. That’s a daily average of only 1.22 stops. Dexter makes 6.85 stops a day based on the AG website.

Myth: The Mayor approved the purchase of two four wheelers in 2007 for the police department, at $8,000 a piece!

Fact: No one in city government has ever purchased any four wheelers. In 2007 two four

wheelers were operated during the 100 mile yard sale but they were donated for use by two

private individuals and were operated in accordance with city ordinances.

Myth: The Mayor runs the police department with an iron fist.

Fact: By City Ordinance the Police Chief answers to the Mayor and must obey all lawful orders. The Mayor and the Chief have an agreement. The Chief doesn’t try to be the Mayor and the Mayor doesn’t try to tell the Chief how to be a police officer! A citizen recently asked the Mayor

to drop a citation and the Mayor refused.

.....ANY QUESTIONS?

Types of Police Officers:

In today's society we rely on our front line law enforcement officers to keep the peace and enforce federal, state, and municipal laws. A police officer is one who has taken on the task of protecting the community, knowing the potential dangers he could face. Officers are often forced to become part of situations that are unknown in nature and unpredictable. This task is not an easy assignment for anyone. The job is often dangerous, time consuming, and thankless.

Supervisory Officers must evaluate the front line officers on a regular basis. This evaluation can determine if an officer is suited for a particular assignment, if he is deserving of a promotion, if he is capable of handling more responsibilities, and sometimes if his employment needs to be terminated. The driving force of an evaluation is determining what the officer's career goals and motivations are. For a supervisor to understand what exactly motivates a particular officer, he must first try to understand what kind of officer his subject is. There are three types of police officers: the fool, the coward, and the hero.

The first type of officer is the “fool”. This officer often seems overly aggressive. He will arrive on the scene of a domestic dispute and be hateful and obnoxious to all parties involved. He will not try to help solve people's problems; but rather, take them to jail and let the judge sort it out. The foolish police officer is often more interested in the numbers of arrests or citations he has written, then with the quality of protection and service he is providing to his community. He will also sacrifice his training and tactical procedures for a more favorable end result. For example, he may not call for backup because he does not want to share the credit for an arrest he is about to make. Many foolish officers make traffic stops without notifying their dispatcher of their location and the type of vehicle they are stopping.

The foolish officer's major liability is that he has absolutely no fear of anything. He does not fear the consequences of rash decisions that can affect officer safety, public safety, or even his career. He loves being dramatic. The foolish officer may think that life is a movie, and that he is John Wayne.

The second type of officer is the “coward.” The cowardice officer is the farthest thing from proactive. He takes the longest amount of time to prepare for his shift and will often loiter in the station, socializing with the office staff. If another officer calls for backup, he will wait to see if others answer the call first. If a high risk call is dispatched over the radio, he will be the last to answer the call. The cowardice officer consistently volunteers for security details at local sporting events and public relations functions. In his mind, this is a safe assignment. He will also have the lowest productivity rate. The cowardice officer has made a mistake in choosing law enforcement as his career.

The other type of officer is the “hero.” Fortunately, the hero officers outnumber the fool and the cowardice officers. The heroic officer is the first to volunteer for high risk assignments. He does not do it for the glory, but for the education the experience will provide. He is often found showing other officers new techniques that he has learned or discovered. The heroic officer understands that helping another officer to enhance his skills may one day save his own life. Another attribute of the heroic is his communication skills. He prides himself on being able to “talk down” a potentially dangerous person. The heroic officer understands that safety and service is the number one priority. His job is to protect his community and his fellow officer.
The heroic officer also understands that fear is a desirable trait, as long as it does not overpower or control him. The right amount of fear can give a police officer the ability to know when to call for backup or even when to stand back and wait for a better opportunity to accomplish the objective.

Police supervisors must be able to discern between these three types of officers so that they can effectively train the fools, weed out the cowards, and reward the heroes. When these objectives are met, law enforcement agencies will be more efficient and the safety and security of our communities will be enhanced.

The Citizens Police Committee

I have asked 10 business owners / operators, and citizens to become participating members of the Bloomfield Citizens Police Committee.

If a member of the community has concerns, issues, or questions but does not feel comfortable bringing them to attention of the Chief, Mayor, or a Council member they may, if they choose to do so, bring them to the attention of the committee members. Committee members will bring these concerns, issues, or questions to the Police Chief on your behalf and you can remain anonymous, if you so desire.

Objective of the committee: To increase the quality of public relations between the members and staff of the police department and the members of the community.

Operational function of the committee: The committee shall meet every other month on the 3rd Thursday to review a prepared report and presentation given by the Chief of Police. The committee shall also bring forth any concerns, complaints, or questions to the Chief of Police and / or his staff. The Chief shall address each issue brought forth by the committee. The committee shall have no governing authority over the Police Department, as the department is ruled and governed by ways and means established by City Ordinances.

MEMBERS:
SANDY SMART
TRINA EDWARDS
DAWN KUNKLE
DWIGHT HENSLEY
MICHAEL CHARLES
JERRY ELDER
BROCK WILLIAMS
SCOTT GIBBS
KD JONES
COREY NOLES

The first meeting is set for Nov. 20th!

The web site for the committee is: http://citizenspolicecommittee.weebly.com/

It will be updated soon after the first meeting!

DWI ARRESTS FOR THE YEAR - SO FAR

AS OF 10/10/2008

ALL PERSONS ARE INNOCENT UNTIL PROVEN GUILTY IN A COURT OF LAW

Tiffany Fuchs 1/15/08 DWI 1ST

Martin Main 5/17/08 DWI 1ST / ASSAULT ON LEO

Donald J. Kimbrel 5/23/08 DWI 3RD / FELONY

Daniel Summers 7/1/08 DWI 2ND / POSS. MARJ.

Terry Mikoliza 7/23/08 DWI 1ST

Franklin Mccollom 10/7/08 DWI 2ND

We have all seen her

There has been a lot of questions, rumors, and concerns over a lady that walks our town at all hours of the day and night.  She is usually seen carrying a stick or a pipe.  

I have had people ask me a multitude of questions about her.  I have only had two complaints about her and only on one of those complaints was I able to legally do anything.  In that particular complaint she had shaken her stick at some people on school grounds.  I had permission from a principal to ban her from school property.  She was notified and to the best of our knowledge she has not set foot on school property since then.  In that case no one wished to pursue charges against her.

Rumors like to spread in this town like wildfire.  Just this Sunday morning a citizen called me at home and advised me that he had heard that she was struck by a car and killed the previous evening.  I advised him there was no truth to this.

About an hour or so ago I received a call at home that Asst. Chief Malone was roadside with her and that she was carrying a revolver.  I responded to the scene.  She was carrying on her hip a very old rusted up unloaded revolver.  Asst. Chief Malone confiscated the revolver and charged her with peace disturbance.  She was also ordered not to be carrying any sticks or any other weapons around town.  If everybody else can walk through town without fear of being assaulted then so can she.  If she is too afraid to walk through Bloomfield without a weapon of some sort then she might want to consider staying at home or walking with a friend.

If anybody has any questions or concerns about anything please feel free to call me.

A REOCURRING PROBLEM

A REOCURRING PROBLEM - DRIVING WITHOUT A VALID LICENSE

 There seems to be a reocurring problem with people who have a revoked or suspended driver license thinking they can continue to break the law and drive anyway.  It is also against Missouri State Law to allow someone who does not have a valid license to operate a vehicle that you own or are in charge of. The following people have been arrested for driving without a valid license in Bloomfield in the past few weeks:

HAROLD WHITE - REVOKED - 09/02/2008

LEESHA HAWKINS - SUSPENDED (TN) - 09/05/2008

RENE LACK-TROTTER - SUSPENDED - 09/23/2008

JASON MUSGRAVE - SUSPENDED - 09/26/2008

JASON MUSGRAVE - SUSPENDED - 09/29/2008

JASON MUSGRACE - SUSPENDED - 10/03/2008

By Missouri Law the 3rd conviction of driving without a valid license is a felony!

QUESTIONS ABOUT AN INCIDENT

Regarding the following article:  http://www.semissourian.com/article/20080906/NEWS01/709069996/-1/news01

Questions have been raised about why the Bloomfield Police was not mentioned in the paper.  The fact is that the Bloomfield Police Department was not involved in the investigation.  The Bloomfield Police Department did assist the Stoddard County Sheriff's Department with the arrests, at their request.  The total time of our department's involvement was less than 15 minutes.  As far as this not being in the paper, the Bloomfield Police Department's participation in this operation was minimal at best.  My thanks to the Stoddard County Sheriff's Office and the Drug Task Force for doing a job well done.