Riley County Law Board listens to citizen concerns

Terrorism came a little too close to home, with a Manhattan resident making a connection with the Garden City arrests this past week.  K-MAN earlier Monday identified Gavin Wayne Wright as a former Manhattan man charged with the alleged Garden City bomb plot and Manhattan resident Bud Valerius confirmed at Monday’s later Riley County Law Board meeting that Gavin Wright was an ex-employee electrician of his which concerned him. Law

Board member Karen McCulloh noted Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh lived in the area also and it’s important to educate people about what’s going on. She also noted many Somalis, who were the reported target in Garden City, are Christian. Board chair Robert Boyd said “we need to be vigilant and tolerant as we go forward.”

Local FOP President Brian Johnson also commented on other remarks made by Valerius who complimented the Riley County Police on the way a recent incident was handled, taking the opportunity to praise his fellow officers in these challenging times. Also  Hair for the Holidays Challenge coming up again in November. The event allows officers the opportunity to forgo shaving for 30 days, presuming they donate $100.00 to the FOP Cops ’N Kids program.

In addition to such discussions, board members approved a couple of items including the purchase of six vehicles now, with a couple later in the year. They also said yes to a grant to provide $60,500 toward a mental health crisis response professional to begin April first. Another full-time individual will begin the first of the year.

And RCPD Asst. Dir. John Doehling also updated the board on the self funded workers compensation plan which seems to be going well, with kudos from Board Chair Robert Boyd for quick action taken despite some frustration and a lot of work by the RCPD, city of Manhattan, and Riley County.

Board members also heard from Captain Josh Kyle regarding Operation “ARC” or Accident Reduction Citations with KSU Focus Group results. Traffic concerns continue to be a focus.

While the community and RCPD philosophies seemed to be much the same, there was one area that was a bit more negative in response, which was the response from African-Americans. However Captain Kyle said it was not clear if that negativity was directed specifically at RCPD or at police in general and if it came form experiences 10 minutes ago or 10 years ago. However Kyle admitted it’s time to ask some tough questions .

Board members applauded the efforts, following some questions regarding the procedure.