May 6, 2024
It’s a beautiful day in Steuben County. The fields are green, the trees are budding and the jail garden is tilled and ready for planting. Cardinals, robins, bluebirds and finches have returned to our county and the sunshine is a welcome sight!
Last month we witnessed a devastating injury to Chemung County Investigator Mike Theetge. Then the nation mourned the tragic deaths of Syracuse Police Officer Michael Jensen and Onondaga County Sheriff’s Office Lieutenant Michael Hoosick. Our thoughts and prayers continue to be with the families of Officer Jensen and Lieutenant Hoosick, as well as Investigator Theetge and his Sheriff’s Office family. It is a reality that never leaves my thoughts, that every law enforcement officer I know, serve with, or am responsible for, puts their life on the line every day to serve their community. No matter the color of the uniform, shape of the badge, or time on the job, we leave home each day to serve our communities with the knowledge that tragedy can strike any one of us on any given day. How do we prepare for this? We train. We train for that worst day. We make sure our equipment is serviceable and cared for. We care for and support each other. We think outside the box to reach those in need. We build relationships in the communities we serve. We have trained peer support and durability programs. We pray.
May is recognized nationally as Mental Health Awareness Month, providing an opportunity to raise awareness, combat stigma, and promote mental health resources. Here in Steuben County, our deputies work closely with the Steuben County Mental Health Mobile Crisis Unit to assist those in need of services. We also partner with the Steuben County Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services in our jail to help those suffering from substance use disorder to enter recovery and continued counseling. We transition them from the jail to services in the community in hopes of continued recovery. I have personally heard from several former inmates that our programs literally saved their lives. I am incredibly grateful that we can perform this service.
At the Sheriff’s Office, your public servants were busy again. Our Corrections Division was still busy conducting the Basic Course in Corrections for our part-time Officers. Sergeant Sciotti and Officers Burdell, Parsons and Audinwood completed federal training of a Mock Prison Riot. Sergeant Hawk, Deputy B. Harrison and Deputy Shepherd completed the NYS DCJS IPTM Traffic Crash Reconstruction Course. Deputy McHenry completed the Tactical Combat Casualty Care for First Responders Course and was certified as a Chemical Munitions Instructor and a Distraction Device Instructor at the NYS Tactical Officer Association Conference. Deputy Swarthout was certified in Ballistic Shield Operations, Shotgun Breaching, CQB Tactics, Concepts and Principles and Distraction Device Instructor. Deputy Nybeck was certified as an Impact Munitions Instructor, in Building Clearing Tactics and Barricaded Suspect Resolution. Investigator Ellison and Deputy Dininny became certified in Boating Incident Investigations by the NYS Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation. Deputy McCoy and Tripp received National Police Bloodhound Association certification. The Sheriff’s Office hosted the FBI debrief of the Buffalo Mass Casualty Event, with multiple agencies and our Investigators and Supervisors attending. The Opioid Committee and the Sheriff’s Office hosted the DEA Drug Take Back Event to great success. The Sheriff’s Office hosted “The Unbreakable Cop” a two day resiliency training, attended by seven area police agencies. Rosanna Pulvino donated two large bags of “Beanie Babies” and assorted stuffed animals to distribute, thank you Rosanna! Sheriff Allard attended the Corning and Wayne Volunteer Fire Department Banquets. Lieutenant Logsdon attended the Wayland Volunteer Fire Banquet. The Sheriff’s Office also received a commendation from the Bradford Fire Department, to which we are honored and very grateful. Congratulations to all agencies on another successful year!
March was another busy and challenging month in the Sheriff’s Office. Our investigators and deputies were tasked with two death investigations, seven assault investigations, three possession of a weapon investigations, four burglary investigations, one obstruction of breathing investigation, one menacing investigation, six criminal contempt investigations, one aggravated harassment investigation, two resisting arrest investigations, one misuse of foodstamps investigation, five endangering the welfare of a child investigations, three fire investigations, four larceny investigations, nine grand larceny investigations, four harassment investigations, four welfare fraud investigations, twelve criminal mischief investigations, one narcotics investigation, two sexual misconduct investigations, one terroristic threat investigation, two forcible touching investigations, one jail contraband investigation and two animal cruelty investigations. Our Patrol Division was tasked with multiple domestic incident investigations along with mental health detainments, emergency medical aid, assisting other agencies, serving of warrants, and four intoxicated or impaired driving arrests.
All of our deputies and officers performed in an outstanding fashion and we received three commendations from the public regarding their outstanding performance.
We continue to pray for our first responder colleagues and deployed military across the globe, as well as their families. We also pray for the victims of mass casualty events and state sponsored aggression.
Thank you for supporting the Steuben County Sheriff’s Office in these challenging times and stay safe!
Steuben County Sheriff Jim Allard
