Parkersburg Police Department News: 2013

Wednesday, August 21, 2013

Tuesday, July 30, 2013

Parkersburg Chief Joe Martin won't enforce "street basketball pole" remo...

Parkersburg, WV has a city ordinance that states specifically that portable basketball poles may not be placed where they use a public road or shoulder of a public road as part of a court. The reason for this is a safety issue as well as a traffic right of way. Recently at a town meeting a few people from the wood County Tea Party issued complaints in regard to the non-enforcement of this ordinance by the Parkersburg Police Dept. which is responsible for the removal of the poles.

At the meeting Police Chief Joe Martin was directly quoted as saying,"I'd rather see kids playin' basketball in the streets than "doing drugs". Joe Martin also told the people that some of Parkersburg's public throwaways are in his own words 'designated play places" (even tough there no signs stating so and there is heavy traffic on some of these roads). 0So City code enforcement in regard to these poles is open to PPD non-enforcement despite numerous documented complaints in regard to the street poles. The complaints encompass everything from right of way and property damage,personal safety issues as well as drugs being sold and used at a few of these nuisance eyesores.

The sound track for this video is found on the video by the Wood County Tea Party called Parkersburg Tea Party Fairplains Town Meeting. At around the mark observe the irritated Joe Martin and the other startled council member. At observe Martin cross his arms and laugh at one of the "petty complainers" (Martin's term for them). Martin just wanted these people to shut up! so much for addressing legitimate complaints.

Friday, June 14, 2013

Are these Substations Necessary

by Staff Writer

PARKERSBURG, WV

These are pictures of the new substations at Rayon Drive, South Parkersburg at the corner of 17th and Avery Street (City of Parkersburg and the substation at the Parkersburg at City Park). The population of Parkersburg in 2012 was about 35,000 with a growth rate of -5%, according to statics.

The new movement among communities is the "Police Substations" that target certain areas of the city for "better police protection." However with the rise of the abuse of citizens' rights by the police a rational person would have some reservations in regard to these substations. In fact the police department staff these substations with private citizens and promote the substation as a "grass roots' movement. But ultimately the police are solely in control of the goings on inside the substations. A person would also have to question the training, education, and experience of staff volunteers.

It has been suggested that the volunteer staff at these stations are in fact "window dressing" and the "substation movement" is in fact another subtle attempt by the police to increase their power and interfere with civil rights.

Certainly Parkersburg, WV has had its share of incidents regarding unprofessional and poorly trained officers that have been documented in the local and state news agencies. Imagine how many complaints against this department never even make the news media. In fact news releases by the PPD to media are controlled by Lt. Young of the PPD who screens, edits and deletes according to whom and what issues are addressed.

Public beware of substations may not be entirely to the public’s benefit. There is a tendency where police are not properly supervised to use these "substations" as a convenient place to misinterpret information to their benefit, invade privacy and hunt for “department political enemies” meaning victims of any type police abuse who will stand up for their rights lawfully.