1-Color
May 16, 2014 Arapahoe County, Colorado | Volume 13, Issue 25 A publication of
centennialcitizen.net
New sheriff talks about transition Walcher wants more SROs, training facility By Jennifer Smith
jsmith@coloradocommunitymedia.com
Fire explorers got an opportunity to practice their firefighting skills on a real fire May 10 at Centennial Airport as more than 100 local public safety youth explorers took part in a mock disaster exercise. The daylong exercise, co-hosted by South Metro Fire Rescue Authority, the Arapahoe County Sherriff ’s Office, Learning for Life and other partner agencies, was designed to put the explorers’ skills to the test.
EXERCISE HEATS UP More than 100 law enforcement and fire explorers got the chance to practice their skills during a mock disaster exercise May 10 at Centennial Airport. The day-long event, co-hosted by South Metro Fire Rescue Authority, the Arapahoe County Sherriff’s Office, Learning for Life and other partner agencies, took area youths interested in public safety careers out of the classroom and into a simulated terrorism-related airplane crash. Volunteer actors took on the roles of injured passengers, bystanders, witnesses and media. Conducted under the close supervision of public safety professionals, explorers conducted live firefighting, patient treatment and triage, witness interviews and crime scene investigation. Explorers meet regularly throughout the year with their host public safety agency to gain hands-on training and to learn more about careers in law enforcement and firefighting.
PHOTOS BY DEBORAH GRIGSBY SMITH/CENTENNIAL AIRPORT
Learning from actual first responders, cadets from the South Metro Fire Rescue Authority Fire Explorer program attend to an “injured passenger” during a mock disaster exercise May 10 at Centennial Airport. More than 100 public safety youth explorers took part in the day-long exercise that simulated a terrorism-involved airplane crash. Volunteer actors played roles as passengers, witnesses and media.
Suicide survivor tells his story Kevin Hines addresses A/DMHN at annual luncheon By Jennifer Smith
jsmith@coloradocommunitymedia. com “Are you OK? Is something wrong? Can I help you?” Those are the words Kevin Hines so desperately wanted to hear just seconds before launching himself off of the Golden Gate Bridge. In the split second after, all he could feel was regret. “If someone had asked, I would have talked,” he told supporters of the Arapahoe/Douglas Mental Health Network during the organization’s annual luncheon May 9 at the Inverness Hotel. “But I just desperately wanted somebody to read my mind and save my life.” Hines is one of only about 34 people to have survived that same jump. But the thing is, he didn’t even really want to jump in the first place. “I never wanted to die by suicide,” he said. “But listen to that word, `want.’ I believed I had to die by suicide. Those are categorically different things.”
Arapahoe/Douglas Mental Health Network Executive Director and CEO Joan DiMaria enjoys lunch with Kevin Hines, right. Hines shared his story of mental health history and suicide survival with all who attended the luncheon. Courtesy photo Hines’ troubles really began at birth. His parents were both bipolar, self-medicating with drugs and alcohol, living in seedy motels. “Until one seedy motel owner made his best seedy decision and called police after hearing us scream one too many times,” he says. He and his brother, just infants, landed in foster care. At one point they both developed bronchitis; sadly,
his brother died. “The only attachment I had disappeared one night,” he said. That night had devastating emotional effects, even at such a young age. After bouncing from home to home, Hines finally found sanctuary Suicide continues on Page 16
Now that Arapahoe County Sheriff David Walcher has been on the job for more than three months, he says he hopes to keep up the good work of the office while continuing to make progress. “I hope that when you walk out your front door, you feel safe,” he said during an interview in his office on May 7. “In my mind, public safety is the No. 1 thing government does.” To that end, one of his first priorities is to increase the number of school-resource officers in his jurisdiction, which includes Arapahoe and Eaglecrest high schools Walcher along with nearly 40 other public schools and 34 private schools. “We all know what happened in December,” said Walcher, referring to the shooting at Arapahoe High School. “Seconds saved lives.” Deputy James Englert, Arapahoe’s SRO, was able to respond to shots fired by student Karl Pierson in less than a minute. The Arapahoe County Sheriff’s Office currently has full-time officers at both high schools and some middle schools, with deputies splitting time among other middle schools. Ideally, Walcher would like to keep full-time officers at each high school and middle school, and increase visibility at the elementary schools. “We have a plan for how they would be deployed,” he said. “It’s not just what we want, but truly what we feel we need.” He’d also like to establish an internal training department, a function now shared among several law-enforcement agencies, and get the crime lab added to the list of nationally accredited departments within ACSO. “That’s indicative of an organization that voluntarily wants to meet nationally recognized standards,” said Walcher. “It’s fiscally conservative, very efficient and very transparent. Now, are there changes I’m going to make over time? Yes, there are.” He said he’s already made some organizational changes at the jail, which houses 15,000 to 18,000 inmates a year and up to 1,100 on any given day. “Ensuring the right management and accountability is critical,” he said. Many of those inmates come from Aurora, which is currently investigating the possibility of becoming its own county. Walcher, a Colorado native who has lived in Aurora for 20 years, said should that happen, the city would either have to build its own jail at a cost of around $100 million, or pay for beds that it now uses for free at Arapahoe County’s jail. Walcher said he might have to close modules if Aurora builds its own facility, and jobs could be lost. “I don’t agree with all the numbers in the study, but it would be challenging and expensive for them to become their own city and county,” he said. Walcher, who worked his way up the ranks at the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office from 1988 until former Sheriff Grayson Robinson recruited him in 2009, said ACSO has historically enjoyed good relationships with all the municipalities within and around the county, sharing resources and respect. “We all work well together in the community,” he said. “We overall have the same commitment to what we’re doing. … The crooks don’t know when they’re leaving the city of Littleton and moving into Centennial.” After 33 years on the job, Walcher said he still likes to check in with patrol. When he’s out and about, he’ll stop if he sees one of his deputies with somebody pulled over, Sheriff continues on Page 16
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