Morgantown Police Story Archives - West Virginia Public Broadcasting

False Reports Of Active Shooters Made At Schools Across State

More than a dozen false reports of active shooters were made at schools across the state Wednesday. The incident is part of a growing national trend.

Law enforcement in Barbour, Cabell, Harrison, Ohio, Kanawha, Marion, Mercer, Monongalia, Raleigh, Taylor, Wirt and Wood counties all received calls Wednesday morning of active shooters in schools, or the imminent threat of an active shooter.

Morgantown police, who responded to a false call at Morgantown High School around 9 a.m., said in a press release that an unidentified male identifying himself as a teacher at the school called 911 and said seven students had been shot in his classroom.

Deputy Cabinet Secretary for the West Virginia Department of Homeland Security Rob Cunningham says false or not, the safety of students in schools is a top priority and law enforcement responded to all involved locations quickly.

“Every time that there’s a threat, or there’s an allegation that there’s going to be some sort of violence towards our children, we take them all dead serious,” he said.

Cunningham said the calls, known colloquially as ‘swatting’, follow a growing pattern across the country.

“This isn’t only happening in the state of West Virginia, these types of calls have been happening throughout the nation,” he said.

Cunningham confirmed that similar calls were made simultaneously in Ohio Wednesday morning. Schools in North Carolina were targeted with similar false claims last week. He said the West Virginia incidents are now part of a federal investigation.

“My conversation with the FBI this morning was that these sorts of events have been happening throughout the nation and what is happening in West Virginia is going to be elevated to a national level investigation,” Cunningham said.

The false reporting of an emergency incident is a misdemeanor in West Virginia and carries a fine of up to $500 or a six month jail sentence.

Cunningham highlighted the state’s new “SeeSend” phone app, which allows community members to report information and concerns, and could help mitigate false reporting moving forward.

“If they have information, they have a tip, they know of something that’s going to negatively affect a school or a child, you can send that information and it goes straight to the people that it needs to go to to create an immediate response,” he said.

Morgantown Police Maintains ‘Soft Interview Room’ For Trauma Survivors

Soft interview spaces are set up in law enforcement facilities to document victims’ stories.

Del. Evan Hansen, D-Monongalia, presented the Morgantown Police Department (MPD) and the Rape & Domestic Violence Information Center (RDVIC) Tuesday with $2000 for continuing maintenance of the Judy King soft interview room.

Soft interview spaces are set up in law enforcement facilities to document victims’ stories. According to Texas-based Project Beloved, a nonprofit that helps police departments install soft interview rooms, a space that is comfortable rather than stark allows the participant to feel physically and emotionally safe and can have a significant impact on the interview process.

The Judy King Soft Interview Room first opened five years ago to the day on April 5, 2017.

RDVIC Executive Director Alexia Jennings said it gives “a safe space to survivors to tell their stories and to ensure that as a community we are providing trauma informed victim centered services to survivors in Mon County.”

According to Tuesday’s presentation, Morgantown’s soft interview room is the first of its kind in West Virginia.

Morgantown Advances Police Review Board Plan With Diminished Scope

The Morgantown City Council voted unanimously Tuesday night to move forward with a plan to create a Citizens Police Review and Advisory Board.

A vote on final approval of the board is expected in two weeks.

The nine-member board would serve as a go-between for the city residents and the Morgantown Police Department. They have the power to review and make recommendations on internal department policies and hiring practices.

Unlike earlier proposals, the board would not have the power to investigate civilian complaints of police misconduct. West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey and the Mon-Preston Fraternal Order of Police (FOP) had threatened to sue if the board had the power to investigate.

Under the current plan, the police chief will conduct any investigations of police misconduct, but the board will be able to review those investigation’s findings — and again — make recommendations.

On Wednesday, an attorney for the FOP told WAJR they were pleased that the investigative power was removed but still planned to sue over the board’s ability to make recommendations to the police chief after an investigation is completed and the board’s power to question witnesses.

Tuesday’s vote marks the culmination of almost a year’s work from city officials and stakeholders that started last summer after the murder of George Floyd in May by a Minneapolis police officer and ensuing nationwide protests.

Bluefield has the only other police review board in the state. The board was formed following a consent decree from the Department of Justice. It has been dysfunctional and out of compliance for much of the last two decades until recent actions by city officials to get the board to function.

Police Lodge Sends Letter To Morgantown City Council Opposing Review Board

An attorney for the Fraternal Order of Police Lodge #87 sent a letter to the Morgantown City Council on Tuesday opposing a proposed police review board ordinance and promising immediate legal action if it becomes city code.

Nearly all Morgantown Police Department officers who would be affected by the board are members of the lodge.

“It has become clear the City of Morgantown intends to violate West Virginia law by passing an ordinance creating a Citizens’ Police Review Board,” wrote Wheeling attorney Teresa Toriseva in the letter.

In an email to West Virginia Public Broadcasting on Tuesday, Dulaney said the town does not have a direct response to the letter but welcomes the input.

“We have already shared publicly the process we, as a special committee of city council, … have planned, which by design includes ongoing public participation open to all stakeholders and viewpoints, to consider the issue of civilian police oversight in Morgantown,” wrote Dulaney. “We accept the letter from the FOP’s attorney as a contribution to that process.”

In the letter, Toriseva called the board unnecessary because the department already operates to the “highest standard.”

Specifically, she cited the department’s current use of force policy, annual implicit bias and de-escalation training, a choke-hold ban and the use of body cameras.

Advocates for the proposed board agree with and support all of these practices but say the police department can be even better.

“This is about being proactive,” said Morgantown Mayor Ron Dulaney at last week’s city council meeting. “This is about creating great transparency. It is about involving citizens in policing and really protecting the safety of everyone in our community going forward.”

Toriseva questioned the legality of the proposed board and its investigative powers. In September, West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey wrote the city council a letter with similar concerns.

State law creates a Civil Service Commission for each paid police department. This three-person commission oversees all hiring, firing and discipline.

Advocates say the proposed board’s investigative powers would not infringe on this oversight, because it would only be able to make recommendations.

The letter from the FOP’s attorney said the proposed ordinance would violate state law and cited Morrisey’s September letter in questioning whether cities had the authority to create such a board.

“That is a question that will likely only be resolved by our State Supreme Court of Appeals,” wrote Toriseva. “But even if cities can create these boards (admittedly this question is clear), they certainly cannot violate civil service provisions in doing so.”

Morgantown City Council Hears Civilian Police Review Board Proposal

The Morgantown City Council heard a presentation on a proposed ordinance to create a civilian police review and advisory board at a workshop meeting Tuesday night. If approved, the proposed board would be the second of its kind in West Virginia.

Over the past seven months, a special committee has gathered input from experts on police reform along with a variety of Morgantown city leaders and community members.

“We went section by section and we had a room of people in there,” said Jerry Carr, president of the Morgantown/Kingwood Branch of the NAACP. “We discussed it, we debated it, we argued sometimes. And then when we were done with a particular section we’d move onto the next one.”

The nine-member Morgantown board would review and make recommendations on police department procedures and practices, begin community outreach and investigate civilian complaints of police misconduct.

Bluefield has a similar review board stemming from a 2000 consent decree but with weaker investigation.

In September of last year, West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrissey sent the Morgantown City Council a letter questioning the legality of the investigation powers in the proposed ordinance.

Members of the special committee have since changed the language of the proposal and believe it complies with state law.

The process would start with a civilian complaint filed with the board. Then, the board would investigate and the officers involved would present their case.

If, at the end of all that, the board determines that misconduct occurred, it would give the police chief a recommendation.

As required by state law, the police chief retains the authority to implement any disciplinary action.

Mayor Ron Dulaney stressed at Tuesday’s meeting that the proposed ordinance was proactive and praised the past work of the Morgantown Police Department in implementing de-escalation training and a choke-hold ban.

West Virginia University professor and criminal justice expert Jim Nolan spoke during Tuesday’s meeting in support of the proposal.

He cited a 2009 statewide study from the West Virginia Criminal Justice Statistical Analysis Center that found Black drivers were 1.58 times more likely to be stopped by a police officer than white drivers in Morgantown.

The study also found Black drivers were 2.27 times more likely to be searched by police.

“This is not the result of bad actors,” said Nolan. “Discrimination in policing is systemic. We all need to work together to fix it.”

The proposed board would create a level of transparency and community trust in the police force, said Carr.

“We have a police force, they do a lot of good in the city but we know there’s ways that we can improve upon that process,” said Carr “And we’re looking for a structured way for civilians to have that input to make that happen.”

Next, the language of the proposed ordinance will be sent to the West Virginia Attorney General’s office for review.

Police Arrest Man After Python Escapes in Morgantown, W.Va.

Officials called off the search for a python that escaped last month in Morgantown. Morgantown police have arrested the snake’s owner.

According to Morgantown police, the owner of the snake was arrested on June 26. Nineteen-year-old Shane Stevens, of Morgantown, was charged with allowing an animal to run at large.

Police received a call about a 15-foot python escaping Steven’s truck on May 30.

The owner exited the vehicle, allowing the snake to escape into the woods. It was last seen on a hillside near Listravia Avenue.

The official search ended weeks later, and the snake has still not been found.

Stevens has been released on a $100 bond.

Police ask anybody encountering the snake to immediately call 911.