Communities

Police chief addresses Rotary Club

ELKINS -- Elkins Police Chief Travis Bennett addressed the Rotary Club of Elkins recently.

Bennett has been a member of the Elkins Police Department since 2015 and was appointed Chief in 2019. A native of Elkins, Bennett served 20 years as a member of the U.S. Army and the Army National Guard. After basic training, Bennett spent time in Field Artillery and Special Forces and then was deployed to Iraq with the 201st Army National Guard Unit headquartered in Elkins for a 15-month deployment.

After returning from that deployment, Bennett trained and became an Apache helicopter pilot, spending the remainder of his Army career serving in many locations around the world.

"I had a lot of opportunities to be in leadership positions, including being the commander of an attack helicopter company that had eight $30 million helicopters and about 150 soldiers under my command. I'm very thankful that I had those experiences that led me into what I'm doing today," said Bennett.

Bennett has had many varied experiences during his time in law enforcement, including serving as a K-9 handler, spending time doing undercover operations, serving as a patrol supervisor, and working as a law enforcement instructor and a SWAT instructor.

"I've gotten to do pretty much the gamut of things with law enforcement. I use that to make myself as well-rounded of a leader as I can," added Bennett.

The Elkins Police Department consists of 13 officers with appropriations for another two. The Department is preparing to enter another hiring cycle at the end of March. A new officer has just been hired and has begun his training at the academy.

"It's a big challenge when we hire officers," said Bennett. During the last testing cycle, there were approximately 30 applicants. About half of those appeared for testing, with only four applicants passing the physical training test, the written test and the interview process. Of those four, two were ultimately hired.

Bennett said the most frequent calls answered by the Elkins Police Department are related to larceny, drugs and theft, with many additional calls for automobile accidents and domestic situations.

A project of great importance to the city being undertaken at this time is the installation of a camera system. There was a Congressional earmark for funds to provide a camera system to assist with the policing of the city. "My overall goal when I set this program up was to first and foremost secure the perimeter of our city, all the points of ingress and egress, to have cameras on those that would give license plate recognition.

"There's a lot of time we know there are illicit substances coming into the city. Cameras are a force multiplier that will help us investigate those instances. The cameras will also be useful for Amber Alerts and other situations," said Bennett.

Cameras will also be placed at major intersections, parks and places of interest in the city where people gather.

Bennett said every officer on the force is equipped with body armor and body cameras. The ability to look at bodycam footage has helped reduce the number of complaints lodged against officers.

"I'll go to the bodycam and see that an incident didn't happen in the way the complainant states," said Bennett. "They're a great tool but they're not the end-all. A camera angle from a single view never tells the whole story. A lot of time, you don't see the context in which the situation happened."

Another component of the earmarked funds is the installation of in-vehicle cameras which will be added in April. There will also be a camera on the rear compartment of the cruiser to monitor suspects in custody during transport. Another component of the in-vehicle system monitors the area surrounding the vehicle for weapons.

"If you're sitting in your police car writing a citation and your eyes are focused down for a few seconds and somebody gets out of the vehicle in front of you with a firearm or walks up behind you with a firearm, the system will alert the officer that it sees a firearm," Bennett said. "It helps with the officer safety aspect."

Another topic of interest to the group related to the drug issue.

"There's not a specific answer to solving the drug problem. It's not the police putting more people in jail. We can't arrest our way out of that problem. It's gotta be a complete, multi-faceted approach to it that involves the police, the courts, education, the medical field, everybody. It's going to involve all of that to start to make a difference in that area," concluded Bennett.

Bennett can be reached at Elkins City Hall or by email at tbennett@cityofelkinswv.com.

Rotary is a global network of 1.4 million neighbors, friends, leaders and problem-solvers who see a world where people unite and take action to create lasting change - across the globe, in their communities, and in themselves. Visit www.Rotary.org to learn more about Rotary International, visit the club's Facebook page --Rotary Club of Elkins --or contact club president Kenny George at kenneth.george@blueridgeriskpartners.com for more information about the Rotary Club of Elkins.