Police Chief Wooten resigns from LPD; mayor disbands K-9 unit

Lynchburg Chief of Police Brandon Wooten has submitted his resignation, and the village administration has disbanded the police force's K-9 unit due to financial difficulties. While some village residents spoke out against the decision, the village administration said it came down to a loss of funds from the state level, and voters' decision not to pass a safety levy. 

Wooten, who has worked with the village for nearly 10 years, submitted his resignation during a meeting of the Lynchburg Village Council Thursday evening. 

In his letter to the village, Wooten said it was not an easy decision and was one that came with "regret," but it was a decision that he felt was necessary. 

"My decision has come due to some changes that are going to be made to the police department that I do not agree with," Wooten wrote. "There are ways of making changes without trying to hurt someone to gain somewhere else. The K-9 program was paid for by the community for the community. Sgt. Dustin Malone and (dog) Chica continue to impress me with their abilities in combating the drug issues. Sgt. Malone has donated his own time and money to absorb some of the cost that comes with having to train, care and maintain a good working K-9."

Wooten said that his resignation will become effective Jan. 31, 2012, "contingent upon remaining leave balances being reimbursed, as agreed." 

He told the Highland County Press that he has loved working in Lynchburg and is proud of the work that he and his officers have been able to accomplish. 

"I will deeply miss working in Lynchburg," Wooten said. "It will be 10 years in June that I've been here. This was a hard decision." 

Wooten declined to elaborate further as to why he decided to resign, saying that he will let his resignation speak for itself. 

In his resignation, Wooten praised his officers, and past village leadership. 

"The past six years being in the position of Chief of Police have been very challenging, as well as a great learning experience," Wooten wrote. "I could not have made it this far without all the help and support from not only the village employees, but also the past mayors. The police department has come a long way, and through some trial and tribulations ... I want to thank all the past mayors that I have had the honor to serve under: Bill Priore, Jeremy Shaffer, and Roger Shaffer. Their help and guidance and support drove me to continue to want to succeed." 

Wooten said that Malone and Patrolman Jeremy Helton "are two of the best officers I ever had the opportunity to work with. Sgt. Malone's dedication, perfection, knowledge and leadership have made the Lynchburg Police Department stand above the rest. This will take him as far as he would want to go in law enforcement. He is the symbol of what a true leader should be. (Helton) started out as a non-paid officer. He never complained, he was just happy to be working at the Lynchburg Police Department. Jeremy has shown his dedication by his job performance, and quick decision making. My hope was to have him a full-time position, (which he) deserved." 

Council voted to go into executive session to discuss security issues regarding the K-9 unit and was joined by Wooten, Malone, Lynchburg Mayor Robbie Wallace and village solicitor Fred Beery.  

This was the mayor's first council meeting in office. He was elected to the post in the November general election. 

After more than 30 minutes in executive session council returned and voted unanimously to allow the mayor to "negotiate with other agencies" their use of the K-9 unit. Wallace later explained that meant that while Lynchburg now no longer had their own unit, they will try to donate the dog and other items to an area law enforcement agency who could utilize it and would be willing to assist Lynchburg should the need for a unit arise.

Lynchburg's K-9 unit has been in operation for less than a year, and the money to start the program came primarily through donations. 

Following the meeting, Malone gave the Highland County Press a press release that stated, "Effective Jan. 3, 2012, the Lynchburg Police Department's Canine Unit has been suspended by order of Mayor Robbie Wallace. Mayor Wallace cites budgeting issues as his reason for this action. On Jan. 12, 2012, during the Lynchburg council meeting, the decision to transfer the canine and all equipment to another agency within Highland County was made. The village of Lynchburg recognizes that this program was funded by private donations and that is why the decision to transfer the unit was made. Per the Ohio Revised Code, upon the disbanding of a canine unit, the handler has the first chance to purchase the canine for $1. Sgt. Dustin Malone, who was the canine handler, elected to waive his right to purchase the canine as long as the unit would be transferred to another agency within Highland County. At this time, there have been talks with some local agencies, but nothing formal. Once a decision has been made as to which agency will receive the transfer, a press release will be issued." 

Some village residents spoke out on behalf of Wooten and the K-9 units. 

Village resident Ralph Captain asked how much money the unit cost the village per year. He also noted that the community donated funds toward the development of the program. Wallace said that he wasn't certain what the exact figures were, but that the K-9 officer had to take one day a week to train, which was a whole day the village was losing a patrolman on their streets. 

"I was a big supporter of the canines," Captain said. "The community really got behind it. If we can't afford it, how much can't we afford? We don't have those public numbers?"

The village clerk offered to go to the office and find the file with the figures, but Captain said that wasn't necessary. He also asked if there was data on how much crime the unit had helped catch or prevent. 

Wallace said that there were five arrests made because of the K-9 unit, and one person was charged with trafficking. 

Captain said, "To me, that's worth quite a bit of money, to keep drugs out of town. It's also a deterrent." 

He also told council that, "Brandon has been a very good police officer." 

Wallace said, "I appreciate your concerns. This was not an easy decision." 

One village resident said that for years the Lynchburg Police Department was "in the toilet," and now it had become a department to be proud of. "I don't want to see it go in the toilet again." 

Council members said that the decision was based solely on finances. When the safety levy did not pass in November, the village lost $70,000 in potential funds. The levy will be on the primary ballot in March. However, if it should pass, the village could not begin collecting the funds until May 2013. The levy was defeated in November with 200 votes for it and 212 votes against it. 

It was also noted that there has been a 25-percent decrease in state funding this year, with more cuts to come next year. 

Highland County Commissioner Jeremy Shaffer, who is a former Lynchburg mayor, was in attendance at the meeting and asked if there was a dollar figure on how much that 25-percent cut represented. Council did not immediately have those figures. 

Wallace said, "We have to justify where every dollar goes." 

Although it is separate from his work as mayor of Lynchburg, Wallace said that he has 17 years of experience working for the Ohio Department of Corrections. 

Moving forward, between now and the end of January when Wooten leaves the LPD, Wallace said that the village's legal counsel has advised him that he has to "completely restructure and review everything. I've got to go through it all before he leaves."