Re: Police Protection



I beleive that Cheif Karnes and his two Lts. Bob Steele and Ron Szalay are doing a fine job. With the recent restructuring that has happened it will take a little while to get the probies. to get familiar with the area and it's citizens. As it currently goes unless we voice our opinions to the mayor and council we will not get a full time Community Policing officer, let alone have one at all. Pat Calter is the current one and he is only there on a part time basis. He still has to work the road daily. I understand that he gets a lot of volunteer help from the Citizens Patrol Watch to help staff his blood drives and other events. The neighborhood watch block captains also assist, but the majority comes from the C.P.W. This city definitely needs a community policing officer.
If I understood it right a few weeks back the city was awarded a grant to help other cities to set up a C.P.W. and comm. policing office. I think the amount was for $20,000.00. What are they going to spend that money on if they don't have a community policing office? Maybe councilman Murphy can answer this for us.

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Or possibly one of the other council persons can provide us with an answer.

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I have not been informed to date on the allocation of those funds. But I will ask. And we do need a community policing officer full time. It is def not a part time position.

As to the performance of Officer Coulter, I have been impressed with his job performance. He really goes above & beyond his duties. There were 2 seperate ocassions that really impressed me.

The first being that not so long ago he was on vacation and came into work anyhow. While I know we expect alot from our officers, we also realize that everyone needs a breather from work on ocassion. Yet I did not make a big fuss over it, and he probably does not even know, what kind of impression that left on me. But it left me knowing that he is very dedicated.

The other ocassion ....and I am sure he did not even see me was as I was enetering city hall Officer Coulter was pushing a man in a wheelchair down Fort Park and then down Cleophus towards the police dept.
Another officer was driving by the door of city hall, so I asked the million dollar question. " Why was the officer pushing him down the street". I was informed that the man was being arrested but because of his handicap it would have been difficult on the man to place him in the patrol vehicle. Instead of trying to squeeze the man & his wheelchair inside the vehicle Officer Coulter made it as easy as he could for the man and pushed him from somewhere on Fort St all the way to the station. Believe it or not both of them were smiling even. The officer and the man being arrested.

Now I am sure no one is happy at the concept of being arrested. But yet Officer Coulter managed to do his job and even with a level of compassion for the mans disabilities. Once again impressing me. And I am sure he didnt know it.

While I am sure both of these items are minor in comparison to the larger and more dangerous situations I am sure he has had to deal with as an officer over the years, they surely set a tone in my mind as to his character.

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lpproud (09-29-05)