Police Story Archives - West Virginia Public Broadcasting

911 Outages Disrupt Emergency Communications In Berkeley County

911 lines were experiencing a temporary outage in Berkeley County, W.Va., leaving residents unable to contact county-level emergency services.

Updated on Wednesday, Feb. 7, 2024 at 12 p.m.

Emergency 911 lines in Berkeley County temporarily went down Wednesday morning, leaving residents unable to contact county emergency services.

The first alert was issued at 11:10 a.m. via Berkeley County’s text message alert system.

News of the outage was then shared on various county social media pages, including the official Facebook page of the Berkeley County Sheriff’s Department.

For less than an hour, residents were unable to use county emergency lines or non-emergency lines linked to the Berkeley County Department of Emergency Communications.

“[Emergency officials] are working to resolve this issue,” stated the post on Facebook prior to the restoration. “Please contact your local fire, police, or EMS in the event of an emergency. We will update as soon as the lines are back up. Law enforcement can be reached at the following numbers: Berkeley County Sheriff’s Dept. 304-267-7000, Martinsburg City Police 304-264-2100 [and] West Virginia State Police 304-267-0000.”

In November, similar outages in other West Virginia counties left residents unable to contact emergency services for up to 10 hours cumulatively.

City Of Huntington Awarded Grant To Expand Crisis Intervention Team

The U.S. Conference of Mayors and the store chain Target announced Monday that the City of Huntington is the small population winner of this year’s Police Reform and Equitable Justice Grant Program.

The program is designed to identify, promote and support police policies and practices that cities of all sizes are finding to be most effective in advancing the goal of justice for all residents.

Huntington was recognized for its Crisis Intervention Team, which pairs mental health providers with police officers to respond to mental health/co-occurring substance use crises. City officials and community health agencies developed the Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) with the Huntington Police Department in September 2022.

The purpose of the CIT is to handle active mental health crises in the community that cannot be solved by other mental health programs such as crisis phone numbers. The CIT is a part of the department’s new Coordinated Care Unit that will focus solely on mental health needs within the community. In addition to the Huntington Police Department’s Mental Health Liaison and CIT officers, the project currently partners with the Mayor’s Council on Drug Control Policy and mental health providers in the community.

In the third year of this competitive grant program, judges named one winner in the program’s large (over 300,000), mid-sized (100,000 – 300,000) and small (under 100,000) population categories. Huntington was the winner in the small population category. Arlington, Texas (large category) and Lansing, Michigan (mid-sized category) also were named winners

Huntington will share in a total of $350,000 in grant funds with the other two winning cities.

The U.S. Conference of Mayors is the official nonpartisan organization of cities with populations of 30,000 or more. There are more than 1,400 such cities in the country today, and each city is represented in the conference by its chief elected official, the mayor.

Justice Signs Cassie Johnson Act Into Law

The memorial act, Senate Bill 490, creates a criminal penalty for interfering with an on-duty law enforcement officer, resulting in the officer’s death.

Gov. Jim Justice signed the Patrol Officer Cassie Marie Johnson Memorial Act into law Monday morning.

The bill is named after Charleston Police Officer Cassie Johnson, 28, who died after being shot in December 2020.

The prosecution in the case originally charged Joshua Phillips, the man who shot Johnson, with first-degree murder. Prosecutors said Johnson was worried about her safety because Phillips had pulled a gun, prevented Johnson from getting to her service weapon and struggled with her before shots were fired.

In June 2022, Phillips was found guilty of second-degree murder, following three days of deliberations in the trial.

The memorial act, Senate Bill 490, creates a criminal penalty for interfering with an on-duty law enforcement officer, resulting in the officer’s death.

“The vote was unanimous in both chambers, and I salute them in every way,” Justice said. “Thank you all for, for everything. Basically, what this is doing is stiffening the penalties. This is Senate Bill 490. Patrol Officer, Cassie Marie Johnson Memorial Act. So like I said with great, great honor. When someone takes the life of one of our law enforcement officers, this bill makes sure that they are punished for their actions, and so I’m going to sign.”

The penalty for killing an on-duty law enforcement officer in West Virginia is now life imprisonment with the possibility of parole after 15 years.

After Monday’s signing of Senate Bill 490, Mayor of Charleston, Amy Shuler Goodwin released a statement.

“There is not a day that goes by that we don’t think about Cassie, her commitment to our community, and the loss that was experienced by so many – especially her brothers and sisters in blue,” said Goodwin. “We appreciate the Legislature’s willingness to sit down and listen to our police officers – and, especially, the family of Cassie Johnson.”

Update: Suspect Search In Monongalia County Ends

The search in Monongalia County for a suspect connected to a murder ended Monday.

Updated on Tuesday, June 28, 2022 at 2:10 p.m.

The Monongalia County Sheriff announced that Arlo Romano was taken into custody Monday night by the Pennsylvania State Police Uniontown Barracks.

Chestnut Ridge Park and Campground returned to normal operations Tuesday, June 28. On their Facebook page, the park said they will have a security patrol cover the park through the end of the week from dusk to dawn.

Original Post:

The search in Monongalia County for a suspect connected to a murder entered its sixth day Monday.

The Chestnut Ridge Park & Campground east of Morgantown remained closed Monday as law enforcement searched for Arlo Whiteoak Romano in connection with the death of Matthew Moore in May.

Monongalia County deputies encountered Romano Wednesday night, but he fled on foot to a wooded area that backs onto Coopers Rock State Forest.

On Friday, the Monongalia County Sheriff’s Department announced via its Facebook page the closure of the Chestnut Ridge Park after a confirmed sighting of Romano near the entrance to the park’s campground.

Chestnut Ridge Park was closed through the weekend, and on the park’s Facebook page, officials hoped Monday would be the final day of forced closures.

Law Enforcement Search For Suspect In Monongalia County

Law enforcement in Monongalia County are searching for a murder suspect who fled on foot Wednesday night.

A warrant for 1st Degree Murder and Felony Conspiracy has been issued for Arlo Whiteoak Romano in connection to the death of Matthew Moore in May.

In a press release, the Monongalia County Sheriff said deputies encountered Romano Wednesday night, but he fled on foot to a wooded area that backs onto Coopers Rock State Forest.

Law enforcement from multiple jurisdictions searched the area overnight for several hours and the search is continuing.

Romano is a white male, 5 feet 10 inches, and approximately 175 pounds, last seen wearing a T-shirt, shorts and has numerous tattoos on his arms.

He is believed to be on foot at this time and residents are urged to use caution if they come into contact or see Romano or anybody resembling him. Residents are asked to call 911 immediately.

The search for Romano follows the arrest of another suspect in Moore’s killing, Cleotis Cortez-Paul Epps, on Wednesday.

Images of Romano shared by the Monogalia County Sheriff’s Department.

Man Charged With Killing Police Officer Goes On Trial

The trial for a West Virginia man charged with murder in the fatal shooting a police officer has begun after a judge denied a motion to move proceedings out of Kanawha County.

Testimony began Monday in the trial of Joshua Phillips, who is charged with killing Charleston Police Officer Cassie Johnson, 28, in 2020 when she responded to a parking lot complaint, news outlets reported.

Kanawha Circuit Judge Jennifer Bailey denied a defense motion to move the trial, saying the standard is not whether jurors know the facts of the case but whether they held such fixed opinions that they could not impartially judge the defendant.

“I find that we have a group of potential jurors that have indicated they can be fair and impartial in consideration of this case,” she said.

A jury of nine women and four men heard opening statements in which defense attorney John Sullivan said the question in the case is not whether Phillips shot Johnson, but whether he did so deliberately and maliciously. Sullivan said Phillips was acting in “fear and self-defense.”

Kanawha County Assistant Prosecutor Michele Drummond said the state will present evidence that Johnson was worried about her safety leading up to the shooting. Drummond said Phillips pulled a gun, prevented Johnson from getting to her gun and struggled with her before shots were fired.