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Thursday, March 28, 2024 - 09:28 AM

INDEPENDENT CONSERVATIVE VOICE OF UPSTATE SOUTH CAROLINA

First Published in 1994

INDEPENDENT CONSERVATIVE VOICE OF
UPSTATE SOUTH CAROLINA

MyerCenter---Deputy-Brown-showing-crime-prevention-tips-at-the-school

What is the role of a Greenville County Community Patrol Deputy and how do they make a difference in the lives of our communities?

Deputy Brown is a Greenville County Community Patrol Deputy and a Certified Crime Prevention Specialist for the Mauldin, Simpsonville, and Fountain Inn areas. He affirms that “We are a liaison with the Greenville County Sheriff’s office; to provide crime prevention knowledge and understanding in our communities, build relationships with them in order to provide the residents a higher quality of life.”

Deputy Lay is the Greenville County Community Patrol Deputy for Slater-Marietta, Travelers Rest, Cleveland areas. He asserts that, “We take a problem big or small with no time restraints. We are not going from call to call and can actually spend time identifying the problem, satisfying the complaints, talking to the residents, and finding out what kind of criminal activity could be taking place.”

Deputy Poulson is the Greenville County Community Patrol Deputy for the Piedmont and Gantt areas. She states that, “we provide a name, a face, cell number, and business card to the residents in our communities in order that they can feel comfortable coming to us before a problem starts. “

One way they make a difference in focusing on our quality of life is through Neighborhood Sweeps. Fifty-one sweeps completed so far this year in Greenville County. Three units work simultaneously with the Greenville County Community Patrol Unit. Animal Control rescues animals that are malnourished or coated in fecal material from disgusting homes. Environmental Enforcement eradicates debris in the road that is a right of way hazard. Codes Enforcement put a stop to property issues such as tall grass or unlicensed vehicles. These four units go around together in a team and ticket homeowners who do not comply with the rules of maintaining their property and animals. These four units come across washer machines on the front porch, grocery carts on the side of the home, scrap metal on front lawns, and porches with decks ripped off.

“Neighborhood sweeps reminds me of the Broken Window Theory,” replies Deputy Brown.” A car sits out on the street and the window is broken. If the car stays there, someone will take something out of it and more damage occurs. This theory applies to a house in the neighborhood…it is like a cancer-slowly the neighborhood is going down and it spreads. We come in and show these residents we care and try to stop the problem before it gets worse,” he affirms.

Another way Greenville County Community Patrol Deputies make a difference is riding through their communities.

Deputy Godfrey is the Greenville County Community Patrol Deputy for Piedmont, Pelzer, and Ware Place. He drove through his neighborhood and witnessed a potential felon attempting to steal tires from a tire store. If Deputy Godfrey had not been in close proximity, the suspect could have stolen the tires.

Deputy Lay has lunch meetings with business owners and community watch contacts to discuss problems in their community. Go check warrants, check property crimes unit be available when needed.

Deputy Poulson persistently checks her area numerous times a day for suspicious activity like cars parked in random places in Southside Park. This provides security to the appreciative citizens who are thankful a deputy is watching out for them. If she did not patrol her communities, there would be “absolute mayhem.” She arrives at the scene of a crowd of people standing around in a parking lot, yelling. “Our first defense is the presence of our patrol car and a uniform deputy. We give verbal commands and instruct one person to talk at a time. When the fighting escalates, then we call in other units to assist in the situation,” she declares. Riding in her communities is a means of crime prevention and improves the residents’ quality of life.

Community Patrol Deputies make a difference in developing lasting relationships with the residents in their areas.

The first way is through working with restaurant and business owners who give them substantial crime tips.

Deputy Brashear is the Greenville County Community Patrol Deputy for the Taylors and Greer areas. An owner of a body shop informed him of stolen property in the neighborhood, soon after he was able to apprehend the suspect. Deputy Lay’s community contacts call him with information when a convict is home so he can serve the warrant immediately.

The second way is through thinking outside of the box to protect their community from drug and alcohol activity.

Deputy Godfrey’s neighbors called and complained about potential criminal activity. He drove in pursuit to the suspect’s home and encountered a Meth lab-3rd offense for these suspects. Warrants served on the suspects and a jury trial was set; they received 15 years in jail and the house was condemned.

Deputy Brown received an alert from the Sheriff’s office of a potential Meth lab in the area. He performed a knock and talk at the house. The wife told him the location of the Meth lab and he and another Community Patrol Deputy seized and apprehended the suspects.” Now, that is one less Meth lab in that community,” exclaims Deputy Brown.

Master Deputy Bryan is a Greenville County Community Patrol Deputy and a Certified Meth Lab Technician for the Westside area of 1-85, Hwy 123 North to South of Pickens and Anderson County line. He has assisted in shutting down 50 Meth labs in Greenville County. Meth is an enemy to the quality of life for our communities because it is flammable, highly addictive, and dangerous.

One night while he was leaving a community meeting in his area, he attended to a “hot call” on the radio and realized there was not any backup for that Greenville County Deputy. He drove in pursuit to the call and drove up and down every street looking for the suspect. An hour later, he arrested the suspect for Meth, and that Deputy took the criminal to jail. “Yes, another Meth addict off the streets of Greenville County tonight,” exclaimed Bryan. He could not live with himself knowing that deputy was alone on this “hot call.”

Deputy Smith is the Greenville County Community Patrol Deputy for the areas between 123 and 183 to the city line. He is also on the AET (Alcohol Enforcement Team) Coordinator for the 13th Judicial Circuit for Greenville and Pickens County. He is also a part of EUDL (Enforcing Underage Drinking Laws) NIGHT. Each month he leads 4-6 teams of Community Patrol Deputies who take undercover underage informants into restaurants and gas stations to see if they can get the clerks or servers to sell them alcohol. If these underage drinkers get a “buy,” then the Community Patrol Unit goes in and gives a ticket to that server or clerk explaining to them that they just sold alcohol to a minor and that they can either pay a large fine or come down and take the four hour PREP(Palmetto Retailers Education Program) class. This class “explains to clerks the criminal and civil liabilities involved in alcohol sales. It also helps them detect fake ID’s,” states Smith.

Deputy Smith and Master Deputy Bryan also work on the Bar Enforcement team. Because of their constant efforts with this team, they both received the Deputy of the Year award this year for their perseverance in checking one local bar for compliance for several weekends. The owners “abandoned their right to appeal the revocation of their business and sold it to another person, affirms Deputy Smith. The work that he does with the AET team helps keep our community safe from the dangers of alcohol.

A third way is through serving warrants on the criminals in their communities.

Deputy Lay witnessed a looming suspect terrorizing a community with a great number of auto break-ins. He hunted him down and arrested him. Deputy Godfrey resolves to serve warrants whether it is one person with eight warrants, or five people with one warrant each. He refuses to go away- walking house to house, until he ensnares these suspects and transports them to jail.

A fourth way is through listening to the responses from the neighbors after they have arrested the criminals in their community areas.

Deputy Brashear receives emails from residents thanking him for incarcerating the suspects in the area. Master Deputy Bryan‘s residents are appreciative as they see and hear about positive results at the next month’s community meetings. His residents comprehend that crime in their community cannot “be solved in a month,” states Bryan. Deputy Godfrey exclaims that a neighbor called complaining about increased traffic at one of the houses in the neighborhood. He drove over there and within a 30-minute period, he took the suspect into custody. “Thank you for taking her to jail!” she shouted. “This made her feel good about us, “declared Deputy Godfrey.

How are Community Patrol Deputies wired to protect our streets from perpetrators and educate us with the tools for crime prevention?

Deputy Brashear is a problem solver. “I do not like to just put a “band-aid” on a problem. I like to see a problem come together from start to finish,” he says. He had increased drug traffic and prostitution in hotels in his area. He asked other Community Patrol Deputies to strengthen tactical patrol at these establishments; the criminal activity decreased. Deputy Lay lives for an adrenaline rush. He likes to take a call that is in progress- lights and sirens calls. A few weeks ago, he arrived on the scene of a call in his area and found out a husband had fired shots at his wife, and then he committed suicide. “You never know what kind of call you will receive on the radio,” he states. Deputy Brown endeavors to persevere-eventually the wall will fall down; he seeks a way to get through it. An example is a drug sting in one of his communities. One of the neighbors became addicted to crack, and it ruined his life. He had buyers coming to his house at all times of the day and night. This unhealthy activity disturbed the community, and the neighbors called Deputy Brown to come and intervene and take this troubled neighbor to jail. This is an example of how a community determined to clean up its neighborhood to have a better quality of life for their residents. Deputy Poulson puts herself in someone else’s shoes. What actions would she take if criminal activity materialized in her community? She works faithfully with the apartment communities who alert her of issues such as traffic coming in and out and auto break-ins. They will also assist in providing information off the car tags. Master Deputy Bryan is optimistic and passionate about the good in people in the worst parts of town. The excellent programs “in my area make me do what I do. I try to do the right thing for my community. I do not live in my city, but I try to ingrain myself in my community, get to know the people. When you do that, you can feel like you are a part of that community and try to take care of it as your own,” affirms Bryan.

Deputy Cordell is the Greenville County Community Patrol of Lake Lanier, Landrum, and Hwy 414 N. He endeavors to do the right thing for his community through his Speed Enforcement Project on Hwy 25. More people shake his hand after he gives them a ticket because he explains to them that, “It is not worth getting yourself injured or blowing a tire. When one person slows down, everyone else will do the same.”

Deputy Godfrey focuses on accomplishing his goals like the TRASH 38 PROJECT. A neighbor called and complained about 38 bags of trash that a resident dumped along the side of the road. Environmental Enforcement and Deputy Lay facilitated in the project. Then, they tracked down the lawbreaker, fined him, and issued a sentence of 40 hours of community service. “I had a goal for this project and saw it to the end. I had other deputies help me complete my goals in this case,” affirms Deputy Godfrey.

Community deputies make a difference in participating in local events.

Community Patrol Deputies Brashear, Bryan, and Brown participate in Back to School programs at local schools. They emphasize three topics: Gun safety-”If you see a firearm, report it to an adult,” says Deputy Brashears. Seatbelt safety- Buckle up to avoid bodily injury. Respecting authority-Follow the rules from teachers.

“These rules are the same ones as the laws they will follow as they get older. This will aid students to relate and to be able to follow laws of society and keep them from being involved in criminal activity,” declares Deputy Brown.

Deputy Brashear also teaches these students to be cautious walking to and from school and not getting into strangers’ cars. He also enjoys answering their questions because “I want them to feel comfortable walking up and talking to us about anything,” he states. He has also enjoyed participating in the Spring Family Day at Michelin. “This is what Community Patrol is all about. People get to ask us questions, and we get to engage with them. We do not have to leave and go on another call. We can be here to take time for them,” affirms Deputy Brashear.

Deputy Brown dedicates part of his time to the Greenville County Sheriff’s Office Cadet Program that is part of the Learning for Life courses with The Boy Scouts of America. Young adults ages 14-20 receive hands-on training in law enforcement skills, and learn how to be servants of the law.

Deputy Cordell invests his time in the community at The Meyer Center. The “Meyer Center services our citizens in the community of Greenville County, and I cannot think of a better place to spend my time than giving back to these children.”

He is the Fundraiser Chairman for GCSO and organizes the Christmas party at the Meyer Center. Last year, he and the other deputies raised $8,000 for the center and gave $2,000 towards gifts for the children. Each Community Patrol deputy shopped for the children and bought educational gifts that would aid in improving the growth of each child. Deputy Cordell went to local businesses and asked for donations; he did not have any trouble with people donating to this great cause.

Then the Community Patrol deputies arrived and handed out gifts. They spent treasured moments with the children who smiled as these dedicated servants of our community took time to bring them some holiday cheer.

We saw the “softer side of these deputies come out when they watched the children open the gifts. The children showed a token of their appreciation in making an ornament for them. The children become familiar with these deputies because they come around once a quarter to spend time with them. They also see positive role models in our community making a difference in people’s lives,” says Martha Smith, Director of The Myer Center.

Deputy Brashears also enjoyed this Christmas Party. “I love those kids. Special needs kids deserve to be happy. It was a great day. Receiving an ornament was very touching. I let my kids put it on our tree at home.”

What makes these Community Deputies smile at the end of their day?

Deputy Godfrey, and Deputy Brashear worked on the Traffic Task Force with the Community Patrol Unit. When they stopped a person for speeding, the person in the back seat started running. Deputy Brashear took off in pursuit after the suspect, tackled him to the ground and tazed him. Deputy Godfrey moved toward the suspect and tazed him a second time. The suspect had possession of 16 grams of heroin- violent crime, 3rd offense. These heroic deputies arrested the suspect; he went to trial, and pleaded guilty. Judge gave him 16 years.

Deputy Lay went to a resident’s home to serve a warrant. The mom lied to him that her son was not there. He informed her he would charge her if she continued acting under false information. The other Community Patrol deputy with him heard a sound in the attic. Then, the son fell out of the crawlspace in the ceiling. He charged the mom with lying.

Deputy Poulson perseveres in her areas. She had pipefitting stolen at an after-hours storage facility. The suspects were abstracting fittings, flanges, scrap metal, and cutting the fences even with excellent surveillance cameras.

Deputy Cordell arrived at a house to arrest a suspect for larceny, and they witnessed mistreated children under the age of five and the house in disarray. They saw fecal matter everywhere and malnourished animals. Codes Enforcement stayed there sunrise to sunset to clean the house. Animal Control seized and rescued the neglected animals. Environmental Enforcement charged residents with failure to maintain property. “You go in with one game plan and then it changes. However, at the end of the day, we rescued the children and they are in a safer place. That makes me smile,” says Deputy Cordell.

These Community Patrol Deputies put their lives on the line for us every second of the day to keep us safe in our communities and to provide us with THE optimum level of quality of life. Master Deputy Bryan says, “We come to work every day with hopes of leaving at 5 pm, but that is not always the case. We stay until we have helped every person that needs us. We cannot always control the radio.” Deputy Cordell says, “We approach our day as a brand new day, and are prepared for anything. We mentally put on a warrior’s mindset during our down time so if we get a call we are prepared.” One poet put it like this:

“A man in a blue suit starched and creased prepares for his twelve-hour shift. With four cups of Joe to keep him adrift, he drives to work in fast pursuit to jerk a helpless soul from his inner beast.”The next time a midnight blue and gold Greenville County Community Deputy Patrol car drives along the streets of Greenville County, wave and tell them thanks for rescuing all of us from despair and giving us hope to live another day in a perilous world.

 

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