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ELKINS -- A brief mention of an upcoming additional manpower request for the Randolph County Sheriff's Office flared into a heated discussion during a public meeting Thursday, with two county officials raising their voices as they expressed their anger.
Just after the beginning of Thursday's Randolph County Commission meeting, during the reports section, Sheriff Rob Elbon told the Commissioners that his office will soon be down five deputies.
Elbon explained that Deputy A.B. Beverly and Deputy B.M. Roy have both been sidelined since their cruiser was struck by a DUI driver in January.
"I want to bring you guys up to speed," Elbon said. "Brian Roy is home and doing physical therapy outpatient care, and Corporal Beverly has been put on light duty. Turns out he had a traumatic brain injury, so we pulled him back off the road in case he would be in a fight or something and damaged his brain permanently."
"So (Beverly) is on light duty for the next 30, 60 to 90 days, they haven't given us a definite timeline. So he's taking calls on the phone, walk-ins, dealing with reports and things like that."
Elbon reminded the Commissioners that the Sheriff's Office also has another deputy currently on a 16-month military deployment, with another one preparing to leave for a deployment next month, and a captain retiring in July.
"I'm just letting you guys know this because of the manpower situation I'm having and trying to keep 24-hour coverage," he said. "For the most part we do 24 hours, unless we are out of the county on transports, juvenile transports, mental hygiene, etc. Or if we have a sickness or whatever where we have to pull someone off.
"Anyway, I was just letting you guys know that I'm still looking for manpower and was going to ask you guys if I could hire someone part-time to help fill those slots to try and keep as close to 24-hour coverage as I can. If I can't do that, I'm going to have to back down to 16 to 18-hour days, coverage-wise, and the State Police will have to take my calls like they did years ago. So I wanted to give you guys a heads-up that I will be coming in and talking to you to see if we can keep as much coverage at night as we can on a 24-hour basis."
Commissioner Cris Siler said, "Well, we've talked before and I need to see numbers, and our last conversation was that you were refusing to give those numbers to this Commission."
Elbon responded, "I have given numbers to this Commission. I'm not giving you personal, individual numbers."
Siler said, "If your numbers are so good, you don't have any problem giving them to us. If you have a problem giving them to us you're trying to hide something… You are not being transparent with this Commission."
Elbon responded, "Everything I turn in to you, you tell me is correct. I am transparent. You're not getting individual numbers."
Siler said, "Then you are not getting manpower, until we get numbers to prove it. You don't have enough numbers to justify the men you have now, let alone more."
"Well, there are two other guys here that can vote," Elbon said. "The numbers have gone up the last two years just like we talked about. And you know it."
Siler told Elbon that "the numbers" still weren't good enough, to which Elbon replied, "That's your opinion."
Siler said, "Only 10% of your calls to service end up in an investigation of some sort. Whether it's a CI report or a traffic stop. Only 10%."
Elbon said, "That's the same as the State Police."
Commission President David Kesling then asked that the conversation be continued later. Siler responded, "We will talk in an open public meeting. Because this is the way it's going to be."
Elbon said, "You've already told me that you were going to vote no, no matter what I ask for. So vote no."
Siler said, "Since I've been here on this Commission, we've given you just shy of $1 million. I have given you everything you have asked for. And you have not given us numbers in return."
Elbon said, "I have given you numbers every year. You are not getting individual numbers of my guys' activities, you're not getting it. Because then you will take it in public and use it against them. I know who is working and I know what they are doing. If you wanna run for sheriff, run for sheriff, and then you can have those numbers."
Siler said, "I don't want sheriff. If I wanted sheriff, I would have ran for sheriff. We give you more money than all offices in this county combined, even after we bought a new building for the prosecutor's office."
Elbon said, "We work 24 hours a day and we have been since I took office."
Siler responded, "No, you haven't. We will just have to disagree with that."
Commissioner Chris See interjected, saying, "We can discuss this in the budget (meetings)."
Siler responded, "Oh, we will."
The meeting continued, with neither Elbon or Siler bringing up the subject of Sheriff's Office personnel again.
Siler retired from the West Virginia State Police with 25 years of service.