Coldwater Police Department

2007 Annual Report

January 14, 2008

To:          Mayor Lavern Stammen

               Village Manager Eric Thomas

                Distinguished Councilmen

RE:          2007 Report to Council 

                Gentlemen, 

                The calendar year 2007 is past us and several events have taken place and some changes have taken place at the police department.  I wanted to first thank village council, Mayor Stammen, Village Manager Thomas for all of their support and guidance throughout the year.   The teamwork displayed by village administrator and employees is a very powerful tool to accomplish the tasks asked of us on a daily basis.

                Some of the items I wanted to share with you are as follows: 

·         Ptl. Luke Wolfe was promoted from part-time to full-time to fill a vacancy.

·         Ptl. Kyle Silver was hired to fill a part-time officer position.  Ptl. Silver is from St. Marys and is working out great for the police department.  He is a hard worker and very much a community officer.

·         The G.R.E.A.T. (Gang Resistance Education And Training) program was taught to the 7^th grade class for the school year ending in 2007 by Chief Randy Waltmire.

·         Ptl. Amanda McDonald and Chief Randy Waltmire taught the 3^rd grade class in Safety Belt Safety.

·         Aging department computers and server were replaced in the department with a grant from Ohio Criminal Justice Services. 

·         A 2002 Ford cruiser was replaced by a 2007 Ford cruiser through state pricing.

·         Cruisers were painted Black and White.  This was made possible by a generous donation by Schwieterman Custom Body Shop.  Rick and John donated the paint, time and labor.  Rick also switched over the police equipment from the 2002 to the 2007 at no cost to the village.

·         In a combined effort, the Coldwater Elementary School and the Coldwater Police Department co-hosted a Summer Break Kick-off Party on the last day of school.   We had a jump house for the kids, popsicles, fire truck, ambulance and police car.   The party was started with a water balloon fight between the school officials and the police officers. 

·         Ptl. Seth Karl and Ptl. Shawn Craft were hired as part-time officers for the department. 

·         Ptl. Amanda McDonald taught Babysitting Safety at Mercer Health.

·         Ptl. Amanda McDonald assisted Coldwater Schools with the Summer School Physical Education class.  Ptl. McDonald rode bikes with the kids on some of their outings.  She also instructed bike safety.  We issue free licenses to attendees of the class.

·         On June 20, 1007 we held an open house at the Coldwater Police Department.   I wanted to give the community a chance to view the recently remodeled department as well as meet the new officers.  All of the officers were at the police department as well meeting the community.

·         Ptl. Amanda McDonald assisted the Celina Fire Department giving CPR to a Coldwater citizen.  the citizen did survive a heart attack due to the quick response of emergency personnel.

·         We receive a grant from Ohio Criminal Justice Services to purchase 7 new portable radios at a cost to the village of approximately $580.   This was to replace aging portable radios that the police department had used.  Two replaced portables were reprogrammed and given to the Village for their use.

·         Ptl. Jason Miller responded to a call for help for a female who had suffered cardiac arrest.  His quick response and the use of the AED by a paramedic brought the female back to life and is still alive to this day.

·         Ptl. Jason Miller trained and appointed as the new department Field Training Officer.

·         Ptl. Jason Miller trained and appointed as the new department Firearms Instructor.

·         Anonymous donor of $5000 allowed the police department to purchase 3 new AEDs so that each cruiser would have one of these life saving devices available at all times.

·         Ohio Department of Public Safety donated a police traffic radar to the department for involvement with various traffic safety campaigns.

·         The Police Department became a member of the Fight Crime Invest in Kids Initiative.

·         The Police Department became a member of the Ready, Ohio initiative.

·         Ptl. Amanda McDonald gave a safety talk to students of the Two by Two Preschool.

By nature, policing in a small community is a challenge.  Police actions are often misunderstood and over exaggerated.  The officers we have currently working for the Village of Coldwater are caring and dedicated to keeping our town safe and I am proud to be a member of the Coldwater Police Department as well as the Village of Coldwater.

Again, without the cooperation and guidance from village officials none of this would be possible.  We look forward to 2008 and serving the needs of the community members.

Respectfully submitted; 

Chief Randall D. Waltmire