Sheriff candidates fi eld questions as election day is closer
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Candidate: Clifford Camp
Occupation: Whitwell Police Department Patrol Officer
Years Law Enforcement Experience: Nine
A1: I think the biggest problem with a lot of these accidents is no patrolling. Lack of police presence causes them to drive faster and more dangerously, 111, Signal Mountain, other places. That falls back to my plan of breaking the county down into three sectors. A deputy will be there at all times patrolling. I think that would cut down on a lot of these wrecks.
A2: For six years I worked closely with the drug task force and I will continue to work closely with the drug task force and district attorney’s office. I will have an officer working with the drug task force and that will be his priority.
A3: A lot of officers haven’t had schooling for it. I want to work with people who will work with officers who will let them know what they’re dealing with. There’s a difference between someone intoxicated with drugs or alcohol and a mental health issue.
A4: I think with cutting out some positions, getting a little more money, a lot more schooling, and a better work environment, working with the other officers will build morale. I will be a working sheriff right beside them, if not in front of them.
Candidate: Scott Ogrodowczyk
Occupation: Captain, General Department Instruction, Director of Training, Signal Mountain Police Department
Years Law Enforcement Experience: 36
A1: I think we need to do more traffic enforcement on county roads, such as East Valley. I know in parts of the county, people have complained about speed. Lots of these are farm areas with tractors on the road. We want to build a good relationship with TDOT and THP. Something I think would help a lot is putting up a barrier on Highway 111 going up and down Cagle.
A2: I want to repair a lot of relationships with outside agencies, working with DEA, the drug task force, and TBI. I want to bring back the DARE program. THP is working to bring it back. I want to do some roadblocks. THP is happy to help us. I want to work closer with child and adult protective agencies. If our people go work with them and go into a drug deal, they can arrest them. We need to start prosecuting the drug dealers more aggressively. If we can intercede early on in child abuse, then maybe they won’t turn to drugs to begin with.
A3: We deal with a lot of this at Signal Mountain, everyone does everywhere. A lot of the homeless population victimize themselves and others. Anytime we can place them in a facility it can stabilize them. It helps their quality of life. We need to put them in touch with resources they need. Every officer at Signal Mountain goes through CIT, crisis intervention training. A full week, 40 hours. They learn how to interact with those with mental illness or under the influence of some kind of substance. They learn how to apply those skills.
A4: Part of it will be improving the work environment, level of communication, and the involvement of leadership. A lot are afraid to do their job, they don’t know what to do or who to ask. Leadership needs to step in during conflicts. That will help morale. Also, I want to bring them training, that’s my role the last 16 years. I’ve taught all over the state and into North Georgia. I can bring training to our people and our agencies, instead of a select few, if we do in-house training. We can bring it to everyone. Well-trained officers are better officers. They’re more confident. It’s not a knock on your agency when you ask for help.”
Candidate: Bill Phillips
Occupation: Sequatchie County Sheriff
Years Law Enforcement Experience: 37
A1: We will have our partnership with the state. We’ve met with THP to target these areas. That’s the best way to try and cull it. They place troopers in certain areas and we saturate when we can. We can’t contribute speed to someone falling asleep or hydroplane.
A2: We’ve seen a lot of success. We’ve seen much smaller amounts at the places we go. We’ll continue to target that in all areas, whether it’s law enforcement and putting people in jail, or helping someone find rehab, or most importantly, educating our public including our children in our schools.
A3: Mental health training has become standard in law enforcement. We are seeing more and more mental health situations. Sadly, because of the reductions in mental health bed access across the state, our jails are becoming more often the facility where people in need end up. We’ve having to get extra training for people in our jails to handle those situations.
A4: First would be having a good place to work, which I think we’ve grown leaps and bounds. And of course, pay and benefits are crucial. Even with impressive increases we’ve gotten in my four years, everything around us has gone up so drastically that we’re still having to work on increasing pay even more. I will say the county executive and county commissions have been very supportive in that effort.