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New Brooke sheriff has plans for future

NEW SHERIFF — As the new Brooke County sheriff, Larry Palmer was administered the oath of office Tuesday by 1st Judicial Circuit Court Judge Jason Cuomo. -- Contributed

NEW SHERIFF -- As the new Brooke County sheriff, Larry Palmer was administered the oath of office Tuesday by 1st Judicial Circuit Court Judge Jason Cuomo.  -- Contributed

NEW SHERIFF — As the new Brooke County sheriff, Larry Palmer was administered the oath of office Tuesday by 1st Judicial Circuit Court Judge Jason Cuomo. — Contributed

WELLSBURG — The new Brooke County sheriff said he hopes to build stronger partnerships with other law enforcement agencies while utilizing the experience and knowledge of his own officers to their full extent.

Larry Palmer, who was administered the oath of office Tuesday by 1st Judicial Circuit Court Judge Jason Cuomo, said he’s been setting up meetings with police in Wellsburg, Follansbee and Weirton, and spoken to the West Virginia State Police in an effort to encourage more cooperation beween them and his department.

“It’s not that there’s bad relations, but we want to make them better,” said Palmer, who said he envisions the departments sharing more information with each other in an effort to reduce crime.

He said the sheriff’s department will continue to be represented on the Hancock, Brooke, Weirton Drug and Violent Crimes Task Force and he hopes it also can become involved in the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force led by the state police.

Palmer acknowledged illegal drug use, particularly of heroin, is a major problem in the county.

“We’re in the top five in drug overdoses in the state and it’s a national epidemic as well,” he said.

Palmer said those who have made dealing drugs a career should face strict penalties, but many of the county’s dealers are addicts who are selling to support their own addiction. He said there are programs that can help, and he will work within the system to make such individuals aware of them.

But he stressed the sheriff’s department can’t fight the drug problem alone.

“Heroin addiction is a community issue we have to work together as a community to address. Law enforcement can’t solve everybody’s problems,” said Palmer, who added he will encourage community watch programs through which residents may report suspicious activity.

Palmer said he also plans to establish a K9 unit in his department. He said an anonymous donor has offered funds for the dog’s training, and he would seek other contributions for its care and other expenses.

Palmer said he will seek grants for some positions, such as the drug task force officer, in hopes of expanding the number of deputies from 16 to 20. He said while the level of crime and demand for other services has increased, the sheriff’s department hasn’t grown in more than a decade.

Palmer said he’s exploring the use of retired law enforcement officers to serve as civilian bailiffs in the county’s courtrooms. Such bailiffs have been used in Hancock County and the move would put more deputies on the streets, he said.

As a former deputy who served as a prevention resource officer in Brooke County Schools for 14 years, Palmer was asked if he will return a deputy to Brooke High School.

The program was cut at the county level when the sheriff’s department no longer received a state grant for it. Since then, Wellsburg city officials and the Brooke County school board have agreed to share in the cost for a city officer at Wellsburg Middle School.

Palmer said funding remains an issue, but he will approach the school board about supporting a deputy at the high school.

Palmer has selected veteran sheriff’s deputies Rich Arthurs and Darin Pizer to serve as chief deputy and oversee the 911 center under him, respectively.

In recent months applications for vacancies in the sheriff’s department have declined.

Palmer said it’s part of a regional, and perhaps national, trend spurred by reports of police officers being shot and embroiled in legal battles over their own shootings.

He said the county’s sheriff’s deputies receive great benefits and, thanks to his predecessor, Chuck Jackson, and the Brooke County Commission, have received raises in recent years.

Palmer said his current deputies have a variety of education and experience and he will encourage them to further their training. He hopes to attract new recruits by offering the opportunity for further training and interesting work.

“You have to like the job and the job itself is rewarding,” he said.

Palmer, who ran unopposed for sheriff last year, worked in law enforcement for 22 years, most of them in the sheriff’s department and as Bethany’s part-time police chief before retiring in 2014.

Following that, he served as director of campus safety and security at Bethany College for about two years.

He also was chief of the Franklin Community Volunteer Fire Department for many years.

Palmer said he asked to be administered the oath on the birthday of his late mother, Deborah Lunsford, a former Brooke County magistrate.

He said it was through her that as a teen, he met many law enforcement officers and became interested in the field.

“I thought that’s what I want to do. I want to help people,” Palmer said.

(Scott can be contacted at wscott@heraldstaronline.com.)

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