Sheriff Allard reports five death death investigations, two due to drug overdose
From the Steuben County Sheriff, image by Lewis Imagery
It’s a beautiful day in Steuben County. The recent heat wave has snapped and we are back into cooler nights with sunny days. Tourism continues to thrive. In July we were honored to be part of the induction of Georgia Verdier into the Steuben County Hall of Fame. Ms. Verdier has been a civil rights champion throughout her career and has commanded the respect of everyone she interacts with. Ms. Verdier was an integral part of our police reform plan for Steuben County and a true community leader during the unrest of 2020. We salute her and thank her for her continued service to Steuben County!
Over the past few months we have seen an increase in overdoses in our county. In July your Deputy EMTs provided life saving measures to three Steuben County residents, but unfortunately we responded to two more overdose deaths. The Steuben County Prevention Coalition recently held a public awards ceremony to recognize those in the fight against addiction as “prevention champions”. It was an inspiring ceremony, but again emphasized our increasing needs in the treatment arena.
At the Sheriff’s Office, your public servants were busy again. Your Sheriff’s Office hosted the NYS Corrections Supervisor Course, certifying Correction Supervisors from Steuben, Schuyler, Yates and Allegany Counties. Sergeant Day, Deputy Kidder and Deputy Brass attended an officer wellness symposium. Deputy Swarthout is now certified as a NYS DCJS K9 Nitrate Maintenance Trainer. Deputy Andrews attended phase one of Arson Investigations and Sergeant Wood and Investigator Brown attended training on “ghost guns”. Deputy Butler was re-certified as a Drug Recognition Expert. Sergeant Shutt and K9 Ronnie presented a K9 demonstration at “Smoke in the Valley” with Deputy Nybeck and K9 Twiggy. Undersheriff McNelis taught in a NYS DCJS School Resource Officer Basic Course and a Behavioral Threat Assessment and Management Course. Sheriff Allard attended the New York State Sheriff’s Conference in PennYan and received training in the “Clean Slate Act”, missing persons investigations and the management of emergency orders of protection. Sheriff Allard presented at the Keuka Lake Association annual meeting and discussed boating and traffic safety. Your Sheriff’s Office welcomed a new Deputy Sheriff, Stuart McHenry. Deputy McHenry joined us from the Hornell City Police Department and we welcome him, his wife and children to our family.
July was another busy and challenging month in the Sheriff’s Office. Our investigators and deputies were tasked with five death investigations, ten assault investigations, one strangulation investigation, four burglary investigations, one jail contraband investigation, three possession of a weapon investigations, two reckless endangerment investigations, one fire investigation, one welfare fraud investigation, eleven larceny investigations, two grand larceny investigations, four drug investigations, six harassment investigations, nine criminal mischief investigations, five endangering a child investigations, one animal abuse investigation, four menacing investigations and two stolen property investigations. Our Patrol Division was tasked with multiple domestic incident investigations along with mental health detainments, assisting other agencies, serving of warrants, and two intoxicated or impaired driving arrests.
All of our deputies and officers performed in an outstanding fashion and we received two commendations from community members detailing the excellence of service they received.
We continue to pray for the families and victims of mass casualty events and 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
