by
Helen M. Davis For most people, the life of a cop is what we see depicted on TV or in movies. Evil seems to lurk around every corner as villains wait at the ready to commit some heinous crime. Gun fire is commonplace and so is death. In reality, police work can be quite a bit different, especially in a small town like Veneta. Deputy Evan Meyers wears many hats while on the job. Not only does he enforce the law, he also educates, performs welfare checks, serves civil documents, does trainings in ALICE – Alert, Lockdown, Inform, Counter, and Evacuate in the schools, and provides a listening ear to the youngsters he encounters while making regular visits to the skate park. Meyers, who became a deputy seven years ago to fulfill his desire to help others in a position he finds rewarding, says crime in Veneta is “Hit and Miss.” Offenses range from kids stealing candy from Dari Mart or Ray’s to unauthorized use of a motor vehicle to domestic violence and assaults. Not all crimes are reported, and with the small call volume he has compared to other regions, Meyers is able to often prevent crime before it occurs. Part of this proactive approach, as he calls it, is being aware that there are those who live outside Veneta but who come to the city to commit wrongdoings. Meyers also routinely visits the schools to speak, and all area principals have his phone number. He tries to be a presence at the parks as he wants to have a good relationship with area kids and at times, they will come to him to talk about problems at home or at school. He knows the layout of each school so that in the event of an emergency, he will know exactly where to go to render aid. On a routine patrol, Meyers makes a point of driving by the new developments to look for things that might be amiss. It is not unheard of for thieves to siphon diesel from the heavy equipment or steal tools that are left out by workers. He also pays particular attention to Hunter and Houston Roads as speeding is commonplace there. Highway 126 is another place he watches for moving violations. However, he must weigh safety before pulling an offender over and if it is risky for him to turn around to pursue a driver in violation of the law, he will forgo doing so. If there are extenuating circumstances when a driver is pulled over for driving above the speed limit such as the day he pulled an expectant father over who was driving his obviously in labor wife to the hospital, he will let them off with a warning. The top three reasons a driver is stopped in Veneta are speeding, using a cell phone while driving, and not wearing a seat belt. His own safety is also paramount and when Meyers is sent to a dispute, he will ask the dispatcher for the details of whatever weapon might be being brandished so he can be as prepared as possible. If he is on a call and dispatch hasn’t heard from him in a while, the dispatcher will call and check to see if he is okay. A lot goes into a call, and things are always done to make sure the odds are always the best they can be when so often it’s not known just what to expect. As with all law enforcement officers, Meyers wants to be able to go home to his family in the evening safe and sound and to be able to see his 17 month old son grow up. Another part of Meyers’s patrol involves driving by the playing fields on Bolton Hill Road as there used to be problems with people in cars behind them going through stolen goods, though lately this hasn’t been as bad, and the high school, where there are repeated problems with people driving through the grass. Sometimes in the course of a shift, Meyers will encounter the unexpected such as the day he found a 150 lb. pig wandering down Jeans Road. Not knowing what else to do, he put the swine, which had a bit of an attitude, into the back of his cruiser and went off in search of the owner. Fortunately, he was able to facilitate a reunion between owner and pig and all went well. It’s a mixed bag, this patrol of Veneta, and no two days are ever the same. Calls can vary from anything to a suspected impaired driver to a violation of a restraining order to a car with very expired tags. When he begins patrol, Meyer never knows what types of calls he will receive, but he strives to respond to all in the best way possible while holding people accountable for their crimes. Community policing, he calls it, and he does the job well. With Deputy Meyers on the job, Veneta is in good hands.
3 Comments
Mike Gilligan
11/25/2023 09:11:37 am
Great read! As a retired cop and avid believer in community policing, it's nice to see Evan getting the credit he is due. In a small community like ours people think they can snap their fingers and have a deputy magically appear, unfortunately it doesn't work that way. Most of his days are used up by the mundane, day to day activities that no-one wants to hear about and the fact that it might take him 3 or 4 hours to respond to your complaint is the norm. Have a real emergency? He will be there and quickly but don;t expect it to happen for the abandoned car or the neighbors kid racing up and down the street. Next time you see him, talk with him provided he has the time. Better yet, sign up for a ride a long yourself and see what these men and women really experience on a day to day basis. It might be a day of nothing or it could go from zero to 100; quickly. Bottom line, let them know you appreciate all they do for the community. It doesn't get said enough!
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11/25/2023 01:29:28 pm
I know what you mean about response times. We had an unstable woman show up on our deck last year on a very cold, dark night and she seemed to think we were her family and couldn't understand why we wouldn't let her in. I gave her a blanket and called the sheriff's office but it took an hour for a response as they were on an accident call on 126 up by the McKenzie. Meanwhile, the young woman began to escalate and argue with a companion only she could see and it was rather disconcerting. But, the deputies who finally responded handled things very professionally and we were grateful.
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Steve Lovely
11/26/2023 01:24:11 pm
I would highly recommend ride Along's. I was a mechanic for EPD for 32 years and did several of them on weekends at night
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