Sheriff Allard's monthly newsletter, department report for May

From Steuben County Sheriff James Allard,

It’s a beautiful day in Steuben County. Summer has arrived with warm and beautiful weather. As I travel across our county, and experience the rolling hills of Cameron, the stark beauty of descending into Jasper from Canisteo, west through Greenwood, and east to the magnificence of Keuka and Waneta Lakes, I again realize how very fortunate we all are to live and work in Steuben County. For me, May is always a month of remembrance and reflection. As we attend the law enforcement memorial services here and in Schuyler County, and the Memorial Day services in our towns and villages, we honor the duty and sacrifice of our officers, deputies and troopers as well as the Gold Star Families and their soldiers who made the ultimate sacrifice in order that we can live free and secure. It is always inspiring to me to see the communities who retain our culture and observances in honoring our citizen soldiers. I attended the Woodhull Memorial Day Service and was inspired by both the beauty of the cemetery and sincerity of the service. Thank you to the citizens of Woodhull for their remembrance.

May was another busy and challenging month in the Sheriff’s Office. Our investigators and deputies were tasked with five death investigations, four assault investigations, five burglary investigations, two animal abuse investigation, five stolen vehicle investigations, five larceny investigations, six drug investigations, two harassment investigations, three fire investigations, four sex offense investigations, six criminal mischief investigations, five criminal contempt investigations and one attempted escape. Our Patrol Division was tasked with multiple domestic incident investigations along with crash investigations and completed ten DWI/DWAI investigations and arrests.

In May we welcomed a new Deputy Sheriff to our team. Deputy Cody Henry was appointed as a Deputy Sheriff after serving as a Correction Officer in our jail. He is now attending the Basic Course for Police Officers and we hope to have him out on patrol in late summer. We also welcomed Jack, our ignitable liquid detection canine to the team. Both Jack and Investigator Lewis attended training with the NYS Office for Fire Prevention and Control in Montour Falls and were certified and graduated on May 13, 2022. Jack was named in honor of Jack Kelley, a Canisteo Firefighter who was killed in the line of duty by an intoxicated driver.

In the jail, we welcomed three new part time Correction Officers and three full time Correction Officers to our team, Breanna Hann, Destin Harrington, Austin Palmer, Timothy Mann, Matthew French and Lakota Swenor. All six are in training and preparing for their career of service.

In court security, we welcomed two new part time Officers, Don Horton and Roger Caskey. Both officers recently retired from NYS DOCCS after a career as Correction Officers for New York State. Thank you for your continued service!

We also welcomed three new part time Deputies to the Navigation Patrol Unit. Deputy Kendra Waters, Rich Swan and Jason Day joined the Navigation Patrol team to keep our navigable waters safe. Both Rich and Jason are former members of the Sheriff’s Office who have returned in retirement. Make sure you wave to them if you see them on Keuka or Waneta Lakes this summer!

In May six of our deputies attended Solo Officer Rapid Deployment instructor training. Sixteen police officers from eight agencies attended this training in Hornell which was provided by ALERRT instructors from across the country. Our instructors will now teach all of our SROs and deputies for single officer response to an active shooter event. We continue to work with both the NYS CPASS School Resource Officer group and the National Sheriff’s Association School Safety Committee to implement best practices for our SROs to keep our schools as safe as possible.

All deputies attended the eight hour de-escalation training in May, instructed by Corporal Josh Day in accordance with Force Science curriculum. This training included scenario based training and classroom training.

Sheriff Allard attended the Forest View Gang Mills Volunteer Fire Department Banquet and awarded Chief Bierwiler with a proclamation of outstanding public safety services due to their continued services provided to the residents of Steuben County and for their help and aid in the August 2021 flood. Undersheriff McNelis attended the Hammondsport Volunteer Fire Banquet and awarded a proclamation of outstanding public safety services due to their continued services provided to the residents of Steuben County and for their help and aid in the December 2021 rescue at an ATV fatal crash. Investigator Lewis attended the North Hornell Volunteer Fire Department Banquet and awarded Chief Robbins with a proclamation of outstanding public safety services. To all of our volunteer emergency service providers, thank you for your service!

We continue to pray for those who have lost family members due to the pandemic and for all Ukrainians suffering under Russian aggression.

Thank you for supporting the Steuben County Sheriff’s Office in these challenging times and stay safe!

Steuben County Sheriff Jim Allard