The Inter-Mountain photo by Brooke Binns The newest officer of the Elkins Police Department Patrolman W.D. Butcher, center, is pictured with fellow officers Sgt. R.W. Belt, left, and Cpl. M.J. Sigley, right.

The Inter-Mountain photo by Brooke Binns
The newest officer of the Elkins Police Department Patrolman W.D. Butcher, center, is pictured with fellow officers Sgt. R.W. Belt, left, and Cpl. M.J. Sigley, right.

ELKINS — The newest member of the Elkins Police Department recently completed his training and is looking forward to putting his newly developed skills to work.

For 16 weeks, William Butcher and other hopeful officers went through rigorous training at the West Virginia State Police Academy, which taught them the skills to perform their future duties.

A total of 53 potential officers started the training and 38 completed, which EPD Chief Glenn Galloway believes is noteworthy and demonstrates the level of difficulty.

He went on to explain that all West Virginia law enforcement officers must attend the academy and that it is one of the highest-ranking academies in the country.

“In West Virginia, there is only one police academy that everybody goes to — whether they are an officer with the (Division of Natural Resources), city, county or state,” Galloway said.

During the training process, officers are presented with a variety of scenario-based training exercises, and learn defensive driving skills, laws of arrest, types of traffic laws and how to identify certain drugs, EPD officers explained.

“We did (scenario-based training) where you would serve search warrants, traffic stops and mock domestics,” Butcher said.

Butcher graduated from the academy on July 21 and has since been serving EPD with the guidance of fellow officers. For three months, he will undergo field training orientation.

“It definitely prepares them, but on the same token — he is doing field training right now where he will ride around and be trained, but what they learned from the academy is what they’re going to be putting to use,” Galloway said.

The new officer said his ultimate goal in becoming a city police officer is to help people to the best of his ability.

A total of 11 officers currently serve the city of Elkins.