The sheriff and undersheriff

Our initial meeting with members of our newly-formed Citizen Advisory Committee took place on Saturday, March 2.  Several staff members made presentations on various aspects of the agency, including patrol operations, communications, investigations,   records, and detentions.  The orientation lasted about five hours.    

The sheriff and undersheriff attended an informal social gathering of county Republicans to inform them of recent operations and to answer questions about our agency.

Operations

In response to a request from Leadville PD for assistance in capturing a barricaded subject wanted on a felony menacing arrest warrant, the patrol commander assembled members of the Chaffee County tactical team, including a Buena Vista PD sergeant, and responded.  After several hours deployed in very cold weather, deputies finally succeeded in taking the subject into custody.  He surrendered without incident after being told that a Summit County SO K9 was about to be released.

Proposals prepared by Matt Goodwin and Jeff Stephens for remodeling space in the county administration building for a property/evidence room were reviewed by the sheriff.  One of these was selected, reviewed with local fire officials for compliance with fire codes, and forwarded to the county administrator with a request for funding.

Four persons were arrested on auto theft and illegal drug charges at a house in Poncha Springs after a car that had fled from Ben Adair was located parked next to the house.  After some very tenacious and meticulous work by Deputy Adair and other deputies, assisted by officers from Salida PD, all four suspects were jailed on various felony charges.  The press release can be found on our website, www.chaffeesheriff.org. 

   Training Attended

  Personnel

Kevin Everson and Matt Goodwin were promoted to sergeant, filling the vacancies created by the resignation of a sergeant and the promotion of another last month.

  Complaints / commendations

The sheriff received a phone call from a young man who commended Deputy Logan Tidwell for his demeanor when the deputy stopped the man as he was driving through the county.  He said the deputy was “extremely friendly and respectful” during the contact and patient as the man fumbled through his papers.  He said it was “the most pleasant suspected DUI stop I’ve ever had.”  Apparently he has had some experience in these situations.

Victims Advocate

Communications Center

Two dispatchers went to Loveland to the PUC Task Force meeting to discuss 911, and attended a demonstration of different Emergency Notification Systems.   

The Netclock, which syncs all the times of our different servers, is installed and operational.

  Personnel

  Training received

A supervisor is attending a SOP development workshop and when he returns we will work on formalizing out SOPs

All the dispatchers received WebEOC training.  Two attended ICS-300 training in Leadville.

Search and Rescue

Chaffee County Search and Rescue-South (CCSAR-S) located a 58-year-old Swissvale man who became stranded near the Blank’s Cabin trailhead Sunday afternoon.  A neighbor in Swissvale notified the Chaffee County Communications Center that the man had failed to return home after taking three dogs for a walk Sunday afternoon.  Seven rescuers from CCSAR-S along with a sheriff’s deputy participated in the rescue which began at 3:30am.  CCSAR-S mobilized with four 4-wheel drive vehicles and two snowmobiles and located the man about daybreak the same day.  His vehicle had become stuck in the snow.  Two snowmobilers from CCSAR-S were able to dig his vehicle out of the snow, allowing him to drive out.  He was not injured.

Records and Administration

Detention Facility

We have been informed by the Division of Youth Corrections of some pending changes in the number and location of detention beds throughout the state of Colorado.  These changes will impact the 11th Judicial District, including Chaffee County.  The new legislation has been through committees and is on the desk of the governor for him to sign.  Key features:

 *   The number of detention beds for the 11th JD will be reduced from 11 to 8.

 *   All of the detention beds assigned to the 11th Judicial District will be moved to Pueblo Youth Corrections Center in Pueblo Colorado.

 *   The bed at the Marvin W. Foote Detention Center which was assigned to the 11th JD (specifically for Park County) will no longer be available.

 *   The changes will take place on April 1.

We will keep the commissioners informed of any impact to our operation.