The Herald, Sharon, Pa.

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February 23, 2009

‘Why we do what we do’: Police chiefs answer complaints about procedures

By Tom Davidson

SHENANGO VALLEY — “We’re your best friend when you need us and your worst enemy when we stop you.”

That’s the battle local police face as they try to keep the Shenango Valley safe, Southwest Mercer County Regional Police Chief Riley Smoot said.

Recent complaints about how police do their jobs — especially along the high crime, predominantly black Farrell hillside — prompted the local chapter of the NAACP to host an event Saturday with the Shenango Valley’s police chiefs and Mercer County District Attorney Robert G. Kochems at Valley Baptist Church in Farrell.

George Footman, president of the Mercer County chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, said the session was held to give people a better idea of what issues face local police and what processes are involved if someone has a complaint.

Smoot — whose department covers Farrell, Wheatland, West Middlesex and Shenango Township — emphasized that police are people too.

“When we take the shirt off, we bleed the same way,” he said.

His job is to balance the needs of the communities Southwest serves, which include both rural and urban areas, and work within a $2.1 million budget.

Imagine the responsibilities expected of a minister and “triple … quadruple it … no, times it by 100” and you get an idea of what’s expected of him, he said.

“I wish it were simple; it isn’t,” he said.

A cop’s job isn’t for the soft or weak-hearted, Smoot said, and most who work locally paid for their own education — one of the reasons Southwest “can’t get a black police officer,” Smoot said.

Southwest’s police work in a tough area, be it the federally-designated Weed-and-Seed high drug and crime area or Shenango Township, with miles of rural roads and township officials who question every penny spent on police protection. They don’t have time to profile and do the best they can, said Smoot.

“You can’t profile when your community is what it is,” he said.

When police pull someone over they see “heads bobbing around” and not much else.

“When they stop a car, they don’t know who it is,” Smoot said.

Because traffic stops are among the most dangerous activities police do, they are approached with caution and a procedure is followed. If police encounter resistance, cops will step up to diffuse the situation, Smoot said.

Still, he advises his officers to treat people “like you’re talking to your mothers,” he said.

Sharon Chief Mike Menster agreed and said pulling someone over is fraught with tension on both sides: motorists don’t want a ticket and police don’t want to be shot at or worse.

“Anxiety levels are high on both sides,” Menster said.

Because of that, it’s key that people in a stopped car remain in the vehicle and cooperate with police.

“You always have the right to contest the citation in a court of law,” he said.

Another problem that arises from traffic stops is when people in the stopped car use their cell phones to alert friends and family.

“Soon there’s a crowd,” Menster said.

It brings with it the “potential for a bad situation,” he said.

It’s unwise to dispute police “in the street — that’s why we have courts,” he said. “Don’t visit people stopped by police.”

Also, giving a false name can get you in more trouble than a traffic offense, Menster said.

Traffic stops remain an important part of local police work and are proven to help reduce crime, Hermitage Chief Patrick McElhaney said.

Menster agreed.

“Most of the drugs and guns our department recovers are from traffic stops,” he said.

Police must balance the needs of the entire community, the three chiefs agreed.

“What’s going on in your neighborhoods is the most important problem to you,” McElhaney said. “But it might not be the most important problem.”

About 30 people attended the event.

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