For Chief McLeod, fully staffed means better service

The job duties of a small- town cop are not clear-cut. There’s the standard fare — pulling over traffic violators, diffusing domestic disputes, investigating crimes. Then there are unwritten requirements — smiling and waving at residents, installing Life Alert systems for old ladies, starting cranky lawn mowers.

Troy Police Chief Bob McLeod has done all of this since he began working in law enforcement as a Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office Reserve Deputy in 2000.

It’s a demanding job. When the Troy Police Department is at full staff, with three officers, he works 40 hours a week and remains on call for another 20 hours. But for the past three months, McLeod has not employed a full staff.

One officer moved into a position with the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office. Another was let go. A third failed probation. A fourth got on at Lake County.

But in the next month or so, McLeod believes he will finally have a full staff. The department will accept applications for a patrol officer position until Nov. 7. A selection committee will then be formed to consider, interview and hire a candidate.

The impact of the hire will be felt throughout the county. Lincoln County Sheriff Deputy Ben Fisher works as Troy’s resident deputy, but responds to county calls, not Troy calls.

Lincoln County Undersheriff, Brent Faulkner, looks forward to Troy hiring a third officer.

“I think it will help the department do a better job covering the community,” Faulkner said. “The hire will be a welcome addition.”

Teresa McLeod echoes that sentiment. Chief McLeod’s wife of 11 years, Teresa McLeod often feels like a single mother of the couple’s two recently adopted children, ages 3 and 4. With only one other officer, is on call 40 hours a week. When he does get time off, he needs rest. When the three-year old, Parker, was teething and fussy at night, Teresa McLeod slept on the couch with Parker to let her husband rest quietly.  

Unlike most husbands who might get lost, peruse the beer section and then find the item their wife sent them out for, a trip to the store for Chief McLeod could take hours. People ask him for help with a satellite dish, or what to do about their neighbor’s ugly old car. Because of this, Teresa McLeod does most of the shopping.

When Teresa McLeod wants to get out of town and share a quiet dinner with her husband, she drives a separate car while Chief McLeod drives his cruiser. If he gets a call, he’s gone.

 “I fully support Bob’s commitment to the community,” Teresa McLeod said. “It’s just a lot of sacrifice.”

Especially lately.

Chief McLeod’s department has been swamped investigating Joshua Peterson’s alleged beating of his wife, Tracee, and D.J. Savage’s trans-state domestic violence case. Beside the headline cases, 22 others are currently under investigation.

Lori Faulkner, Troy’s other police officer, matches McLeod’s workload. Hired in May, Lori Faulkner plans to attend Police Academy training in April to earn her Montana Basic Certificate, which will qualify her to act as a full-time officer. Police officers are allowed to work for up to a year before earning the certificate.

From November through December 2012, McLeod  was the lone man on duty. Troy is a small town, but when law enforcement counts such limited numbers, it does not take the sharpest crook to commit successful crimes.

“I remember one time an officer was working, and we had someone posting his location on Facebook,” McLeod said.

According to McLeod, crime has risen while his department has been short-staffed. The department could have been without a chief had a hearing officer for Montana’s Public Safety Officer Standards & Training ruled differently on a challenge of McLeod’s ability to work as a public safety officer stemming from a Nov. 2007 Taser incident. The case, which dragged on since 2009, was settled earlier this month.

“During that time I tried not to invest a lot in myself, not knowing my future,” McLeod said. “I just put that into other officers. Now, I have a chance to build this department back up with full confidence.”

Darren Coldwell, the owner of Booze ’N’ Bait and a candidate for mayor in the Nov. 5 election, looks forward to the addition of a third officer.

“I think it will be much more fair for the people of Troy and for the officers,” Coldwell said. “They will be able to cover for sick days or vacations. It will give the department energy.”

To Teresa McLeod, the third officer means the possible return of something she has long missed.

“On our anniversary this year, we went shopping for baby supplies in Sandpoint,” McLeod said. “I can’t wait for us to get our date nights back. We used to have four hours just to us. I’m ready for something romantic.”