Author: Dave Schwab

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Severe weather tips and info

As this weather event affects our area, we are asking residents to please heed and understand the following:

Please call 911 if you have an emergency. Please be able to provide your exact location including address, street and apartment or room number.

Pay close attention to local news outlets for information on the storm’s path and severity. Two excellent sources of information are Dothan/Houston County Emergency Management Agency and Wiregrass 2-1-1.

Do not drive across flooded roadways and treat all downed power lines as if they are live.

City offices are closed on Wednesday, October 10, 2018 due to the weather. This includes Municipal Court. Defendants and attorneys will be advised of their new court dates in the future.

Additional emergency services personnel will be on-duty during this event. If roadways become impassable or communications systems become congested, emergency services may take longer than normal to respond to requests for assistance. Requests will be prioritized with life safety receiving top priority.

Evacuees to the Dothan area, and residents for that matter, please ensure your vehicles are secured and do not leave any valuables in your vehicle while staying at a hotel or with a friend. Auto burglars are known to work during the storm. If valuables must be left in your vehicle, consider leaving them in the trunk or hidden from sight.

As the weather moves out of the area the City will have crews to clear roadways and repair power lines. If you experience a power failure and you are a Dothan Utilities customer you may report a power outage by following their reporting procedure. If you are not a Dothan Utilities customer, please contact your electrical utility directly to advise them of the outage.

After the storm: Avoiding Scams

Following the storm, if you receive damage or need services to cleanup or make repairs please remember the following pointers:

Persons who solicit door to door must have a city-issued business license. To check the validity of a business license inside the city limits of Dothan please call 615-3166 during regular business hours.

Anyone that makes repairs for others must be licensed by the city, bonded and insured. It is recommended you refuse to work with anyone who cannot prove they have these credentials.

Be wary of scams and don’t pay for work up front. Repair services that request full payment up front before completing the work should be viewed with scrutiny. If they fail to make the repairs or do shoddy work, you’ll have no recourse if you pay in full up front.

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Scam alert: Callers posing as officers collecting fines

Some local residents have reported receiving telephone calls from a person stating that they are a police officer with the Dothan Police Department, although they may use any agency name that is appropriate depending on where you are located. The caller then states that you must pay a fine or face arrest. The caller then will happily process a credit card payment over the phone in the amount of the alleged fine, thereby preventing you from being arrested.

Please be advised that the Dothan Police Department absolutely does not collect fines. The City of Dothan Magistrate’s Office processes case settlements, including fines. In any case, positively no one will call you and process a payment for a fine over the phone in this manner. Case settlements, including fines and court fees must be paid to the Magistrate’s Office using an approved payment method either in person, via US mail, or online.

We are urging persons who receive a call from this caller to hang up immediately and do not provide any information to them. If you feel you may have fallen victim of this scam, please contact us at (334) 615-3000 or come to the lobby of the police department located at 210 North Saint Andrews Street Monday through Friday from 8 AM to 5 PM to file a police report. If you provided credit card information, please contact your financial institution to report the fraud and have a new card issued.

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Promotions ceremony held at DPD

On Friday, August 3, 2018 the Dothan Police Department held a promotions ceremony for five deserving personnel and their colleagues, friends and family. The promotions were presented by Chief Steve Parrish to the following employees:

  • Lieutenant Doug Magill
  • Sergeant Jerry Moore
  • Corporal Damon Woodham
  • Detention Sergeant Ida Sewell
  • Detention Sergeant Robin Pearson

We congratulate these employees on this outstanding achievement.

From left to right: Lt. Doug Magill, Sgt. Jerry Moore, Cpl. Damon Woodham, Det. Sgt. Robin Pearson, and Det. Sgt. Ida Sewell
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Study shows benefits of body cameras

The United States Department of Justice recently funded a study of the effects of body-worn cameras on officer activity, officer use-of-force and citizen complaints. The study found that officers equipped with body-worn cameras made more arrests, wrote more citations, were involved in fewer use-of-force situations and received fewer citizen complaints that those officers without cameras.

Many community stakeholders and criminal justice leaders have suggested placing body-worn cameras on police officers improves the civility of police-citizen encounters and enhances citizen perceptions of police transparency and legitimacy.

In response, many police departments, including the Dothan Police Department, have adopted this technology to improve the quality of policing in their communities. The existing evaluation evidence on the intended and unintended consequences of outfitting police officers with body-worn cameras is still developing.

This study reports the findings of a randomized controlled trial involving more than 400 police officers in the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department (LVMPD).

The study shows that officers who wore cameras generated significantly fewer complaints and use of force reports relative to control officers without cameras. Officers who wore cameras also made more arrests and issued more citations than their non-camera-wearing counterparts.

In addition, a cost-benefit analysis revealed that savings from reduced complaints against officers, and the reduced time required to resolve such complaints, resulted in substantial cost savings for the police department. In 66% of complaint investigations, the body-worn camera evidence alone was enough to dispel or confirm the complaint against the officer.

Considering that LVMPD had already introduced reforms regarding use of force through a Collaborative Reform Initiative prior to implementing body-worn cameras, these findings suggest that body worn cameras can have compelling effects without increasing costs.

To read the complete report, click here.

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DPD promotes new captain

Capt. Eddie Henderson

During a promotion ceremony in the company of family, friends and colleagues, Chief Parrish promoted Lt. Eddie Henderson to the rank of Police Captain.

Capt. Henderson has been with the department for more than 25 years. He has served in many positions throughout his career including patrol, community relations and was a DARE officer as well. His most recent assignment was as the department’s CALEA Accreditation Manager.

Captain Henderson will serve as commander of the department’s Administrative Services Bureau, which includes the records, animal shelter, technical services, crime analysis and CALEA accreditation functions.

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