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Updated: 12:11 PM Aug 10, 2007
WSAZ INVESTIGATION: Trooper Resignations Increase Under Lemmon
More West Virginia State Troopers have resigned in two of the three years Colonel Dave Lemmon has served as superintendent than in any other single year in the last decade, statistics show.
Posted: 9:36 AM Aug 9, 2007Reporter: Mike Waterhouse Email Address: mike.waterhouse@wsaz.com |
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23 Comments
More West Virginia State Troopers have resigned in two of the three years Colonel Dave Lemmon has served as superintendent than in any other single year in the last decade, statistics show.
Through the Freedom of Information Act, WSAZ obtained employment information from the West Virginia State Police (WVSP) for the last 10 years (1997-2007). WSAZ filed the request after allegations were made about the current administration in the public comment section of WSAZ.com following the suicide of Corporal Marlo Gonzales.
The data shows a surge of resignations starting in 2005, the year Governor Joe Manchin appointed Colonel Lemmon superintendent. Nineteen troopers resigned that year, the highest in a ten year period from 1997 to 2007. 2007 has been the second highest year for resignations in this period with 17 so far this year. Three happened after July 17th, the day Corporal Gonzales died.
No troopers were fired in the three years leading up to Lemmon's appointment; but since 2005, eight troopers have been terminated -- more than a third of all fired in the 1997 to 2007 time period. The most troopers fired in a single year since 1997 was in 2001 when six troopers were terminated.
In 2003, the state police lost the most amount of average experience, according to the data supplied by the WVSP. Troopers who resigned that year had an average of more than seven years with the agency. The lowest amount of average experience was 4.24 years in 2004.
The two troopers terminated this year each had more than 17 years on the job. The next most experienced trooper fired had a little more than three years experience.
The information WSAZ received does not specify why each trooper resigned or was terminated.
WSAZ also requested the number of transfers between all detachments in the state for the last decade, but the WVSP says there is no specific record kept of those. However, since July 18th, there has been one permanent transfer and two temporary transfers.
Since Gonzales' suicide, Governor Joe Manchin called for the creation of a team to study trooper suicides. The four person group will look at the policies in place that deal with apparent and hidden behavioral health issues. They will also look at what other states with similar state police configurations do with regard to suicides.
The team expects to be finished in about two weeks.
CLICK HERE for the original story about Gonzales' suicide with more than 900 comments.
Here's the raw data:
Figures do not include cadets who resigned during training at the State Police Academy.
(1) Number of resignations & terminations per year:
(2) Years of service breakdown.
WSAZ also requested the amount of time each trooper who resigned or was terminated had when he/she left the department. This data was only available for the last five years (2002-2007). Note that probationary troopers have less than 18 months of service.
2002 RESIGNATIONS
Average seniority: 4.52 years
2002 TERMINATIONS
None
2003 RESIGNATIONS
Average seniority: 7.07 years
2003 TERMINATIONS
None
2004 RESIGNATIONS
Average seniority: 4.24 years
2004 TERMINATIONS
None
2005 RESIGNATIONS
Average seniority: 6.48 years
2005 TERMINATIONS
2006 RESIGNATIONS
Average seniority: 5.14 years
2006 TERMINATIONS
2007 RESIGNATIONS
(up until 7/17/07)
2007 TERMINATIONS
(up until 7/17/07)
2007 RESIGNATIONS
(7/18/07 to 8/6/07)
Average seniority (for all of 2007): 5.78 years
2007 TERMINATIONS
(7/18/07 to 8/6/07)
None
RUMOR CONTROL: WSAZ has NOT received any requests for IP addresses of the postings on WSAZ.com.
I have a situation that has been ongoing for about three years and involves the misuse of funds by a trustee of three minor children...the state trooper said he "did not know what to charge the man with". I thought the SP knew more than that or at least had resources to find out. All I get out of the law enforcement is passing the buck because they have not had this happen before. Meanwhile these children's estate is being misused. This is a prime example of not helping the public..it seems the only thing they know is meth cases or something they can't ignore because it is a high profile crime. Also, it takes sometimes two hours for a SP to show up. They also sometimes do not show up at all and they don't return phone calls even when made through the Charleston office. It makes me wonder if these kind of things are the reason these troopers are being dismissed.
Turnover?????????? 17 in 1 year! Check out the Corrections turnover rate! try 17 a month...oh..and that's from one facility. The earlier comment about the worst of the worst every day....that isn't really accurate..SP do get to interact with some good people..or at least i thought that they were also supposed to help the good citizens or was that a trooper post showing their mightier than thow attitude toward the rest of us law abiding citizens. It isn't the individuals..it is the agency...the SP has ran unchecked forever and it shows. Hey..WSAZ..do a were are they now seg for the "retirees" how many have nice appointed positions where they can draw their retirement and continue to get a NICE check from the state (double dipping) for whatever state job they have now. The rest of the state employees would love the opportunity..but sadly we'll all work until old age before we can retire and those of us that could move on to another state job must stop drawing our massive ret check
one trooper served our country in the military (yes was in battle), then spent 17 plus years as a WV Sate Trooper and was terminated because he brought to light the infidelity of a superior. Uhmmm there is something wrong with this picture. I worked for the state and either you are in or you are not---I also found a better job not financially better but mentally better. Staying true to what is right, staying true to myself means more than money to me. Law enforcement cannot be just if it centers around a cliche.
Through the Freedom of Information Act, WSAZ obtained employment information from the West Virginia State Police (WVSP) for the last 10 years (1997-2007). WSAZ filed the request after allegations were made about the current administration in the public comment section of WSAZ.com following the suicide of Corporal Marlo Gonzales.
The data shows a surge of resignations starting in 2005, the year Governor Joe Manchin appointed Colonel Lemmon superintendent. Nineteen troopers resigned that year, the highest in a ten year period from 1997 to 2007. 2007 has been the second highest year for resignations in this period with 17 so far this year. Three happened after July 17th, the day Corporal Gonzales died.
No troopers were fired in the three years leading up to Lemmon's appointment; but since 2005, eight troopers have been terminated -- more than a third of all fired in the 1997 to 2007 time period. The most troopers fired in a single year since 1997 was in 2001 when six troopers were terminated.
In 2003, the state police lost the most amount of average experience, according to the data supplied by the WVSP. Troopers who resigned that year had an average of more than seven years with the agency. The lowest amount of average experience was 4.24 years in 2004.
The two troopers terminated this year each had more than 17 years on the job. The next most experienced trooper fired had a little more than three years experience.
The information WSAZ received does not specify why each trooper resigned or was terminated.
WSAZ also requested the number of transfers between all detachments in the state for the last decade, but the WVSP says there is no specific record kept of those. However, since July 18th, there has been one permanent transfer and two temporary transfers.
Since Gonzales' suicide, Governor Joe Manchin called for the creation of a team to study trooper suicides. The four person group will look at the policies in place that deal with apparent and hidden behavioral health issues. They will also look at what other states with similar state police configurations do with regard to suicides.
The team expects to be finished in about two weeks.
CLICK HERE for the original story about Gonzales' suicide with more than 900 comments.
Here's the raw data:
Figures do not include cadets who resigned during training at the State Police Academy.
(1) Number of resignations & terminations per year:
| Year | Resignations | Terminations |
| 1997 | 10 | 1 |
| 1998 | 9 | 3 |
| 1999 | 10 | 3 |
| 2000 | 7 | 1 |
| 2001 | 11 | 6 |
| 2002 | 16 | 0 |
| 2003 | 9 | 0 |
| 2004 | 9 | 0 |
| 2005 | 19 | 4 |
| 2006 | 15 | 2 |
| 2007 to 7/17 | 14 | 2 |
| 2007 7/18-8/8 | 3 | 0 |
(2) Years of service breakdown.
WSAZ also requested the amount of time each trooper who resigned or was terminated had when he/she left the department. This data was only available for the last five years (2002-2007). Note that probationary troopers have less than 18 months of service.
2002 RESIGNATIONS
| Years | Months | |
| Trooper 1 | 3 | 1 |
| Trooper 2 | 2 | 3 |
| Trooper 3 | 7 | 5 |
| Trooper 4 | 6 | 9 |
| Trooper 5 | 3 | 4 |
| Trooper 6 | 3 | 4 |
| Trooper 7 | 7 | 7 |
| Trooper 8 | 3 | 6 |
| Trooper 9 | 2 | 7 |
| Trooper 10 | 3 | 7 |
| Trooper 11 | 3 | 8 |
| Trooper 12 | 7 | 4 |
| Trooper 13 | 2 | 11 |
| Trooper 14 | 3 | 9 |
| Trooper 15 | 5 | 1 |
| Trooper 16 | 7 | 1 |
2002 TERMINATIONS
None
2003 RESIGNATIONS
| Years | Months | |
| Trooper 1 | 3 | 0 |
| Trooper 2 | 14 | 0 |
| Trooper 3 | 8 | 4 |
| Trooper 4 | 5 | 8 |
| Trooper 5 | 11 | 0 |
| Trooper 6 | 5 | 10 |
| Trooper 7 | 3 | 7 |
| Trooper 8 | 8 | 4 |
| Trooper 9 | 3 | 11 |
2003 TERMINATIONS
None
2004 RESIGNATIONS
| Years | Months | |
| Trooper 1 | 4 | 0 |
| Trooper 2 | 7 | 9 |
| Trooper 3 | 1 | 4 |
| Trooper 4 | 0 | 9 |
| Trooper 5 | 9 | 9 |
| Trooper 6 | 9 | 2 |
| Trooper 7 | 1 | 7 |
| Trooper 8 | 1 | 11 |
| Trooper 9 | 1 | 11 |
2004 TERMINATIONS
None
2005 RESIGNATIONS
| Years | Months | |
| Trooper 1 | 1 | 4 |
| Trooper 2 | 5 | 3 |
| Trooper 3 | 1 | 4 |
| Trooper 4 | 1 | 5 |
| Trooper 5 | 5 | 3 |
| Trooper 6 | 9 | 6 |
| Trooper 7 | 5 | 9 |
| Trooper 8 | 10 | 2 |
| Trooper 9 | 1 | 11 |
| Trooper 10 | 6 | 10 |
| Trooper 11 | 6 | 10 |
| Trooper 12 | 15 | 5 |
| Trooper 13 | 5 | 8 |
| Trooper 14 | 9 | 11 |
| Trooper 15 | 4 | 4 |
| Trooper 16 | 7 | 9 |
| Trooper 17 | 11 | 2 |
| Trooper 18 | 3 | 6 |
| Trooper 19 | 10 | 7 |
2005 TERMINATIONS
| Years | Months | |
| Trooper 1 | 1 | 4 |
| Trooper 2 | 1 | 1 |
| Trooper 3 | 2 | 0 |
| Trooper 4 | 1 | 3 |
2006 RESIGNATIONS
| Years | Months | |
| Trooper 1 | 10 | 3 |
| Trooper 2 | 6 | 1 |
| Trooper 3 | 1 | 7 |
| Trooper 4 | 11 | 6 |
| Trooper 5 | 3 | 2 |
| Trooper 6 | 7 | 6 |
| Trooper 7 | 0 | 9 |
| Trooper 8 | 6 | 9 |
| Trooper 9 | 3 | 6 |
| Trooper 10 | 7 | 9 |
| Trooper 11 | 7 | 11 |
| Trooper 12 | 0 | 10 |
| Trooper 13 | 2 | 3 |
| Trooper 14 | 0 | 10 |
| Trooper 15 | 6 | 5 |
2006 TERMINATIONS
| Years | Months | |
| Trooper 1 | 0 | 9 |
| Trooper 2 | 3 | 5 |
2007 RESIGNATIONS
(up until 7/17/07)
| Years | Months | |
| Trooper 1 | 7 | 3 |
| Trooper 2 | 1 | 0 |
| Trooper 3 | 3 | 3 |
| Trooper 4 | 1 | 0 |
| Trooper 5 | 13 | 11 |
| Trooper 6 | 1 | 5 |
| Trooper 7 | 1 | 5 |
| Trooper 8 | 8 | 4 |
| Trooper 9 | 3 | 5 |
| Trooper 10 | 14 | 10 |
| Trooper 11 | 2 | 10 |
| Trooper 12 | 0 | 9 |
| Trooper 13 | 7 | 7 |
| Trooper 14 | 7 | 6 |
2007 TERMINATIONS
(up until 7/17/07)
| Years | Months | |
| Trooper 1 | 17 | 1 |
| Trooper 2 | 18 | 6 |
2007 RESIGNATIONS
(7/18/07 to 8/6/07)
| Years | Months | |
| Trooper 1 | 9 | 9 |
| Trooper 2 | 12 | 3 |
| Trooper 3 | 1 | 10 |
2007 TERMINATIONS
(7/18/07 to 8/6/07)
None
RUMOR CONTROL: WSAZ has NOT received any requests for IP addresses of the postings on WSAZ.com.
Latest Comments
Posted by: Janey
on Oct 8, 2008 at 08:13 PM
I have a situation that has been ongoing for about three years and involves the misuse of funds by a trustee of three minor children...the state trooper said he "did not know what to charge the man with". I thought the SP knew more than that or at least had resources to find out. All I get out of the law enforcement is passing the buck because they have not had this happen before. Meanwhile these children's estate is being misused. This is a prime example of not helping the public..it seems the only thing they know is meth cases or something they can't ignore because it is a high profile crime. Also, it takes sometimes two hours for a SP to show up. They also sometimes do not show up at all and they don't return phone calls even when made through the Charleston office. It makes me wonder if these kind of things are the reason these troopers are being dismissed.
Posted by: Joe
on Aug 25, 2007 at 10:23 PM
Turnover?????????? 17 in 1 year! Check out the Corrections turnover rate! try 17 a month...oh..and that's from one facility. The earlier comment about the worst of the worst every day....that isn't really accurate..SP do get to interact with some good people..or at least i thought that they were also supposed to help the good citizens or was that a trooper post showing their mightier than thow attitude toward the rest of us law abiding citizens. It isn't the individuals..it is the agency...the SP has ran unchecked forever and it shows. Hey..WSAZ..do a were are they now seg for the "retirees" how many have nice appointed positions where they can draw their retirement and continue to get a NICE check from the state (double dipping) for whatever state job they have now. The rest of the state employees would love the opportunity..but sadly we'll all work until old age before we can retire and those of us that could move on to another state job must stop drawing our massive ret check
Posted by: Sher
on Aug 19, 2007 at 01:29 AM
one trooper served our country in the military (yes was in battle), then spent 17 plus years as a WV Sate Trooper and was terminated because he brought to light the infidelity of a superior. Uhmmm there is something wrong with this picture. I worked for the state and either you are in or you are not---I also found a better job not financially better but mentally better. Staying true to what is right, staying true to myself means more than money to me. Law enforcement cannot be just if it centers around a cliche.
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