By Richard Kerns
rkerns@newstribune.info
Tribune Staff Writer
KEYSER — Tom Roy doesn’t carry a gun or walk a beat, but the job he performs for the Keyser City Police Department is critical to the officers on the street and the residents they protect and serve.
As a communications dispatcher for the Keyser Police, Roy sits at the department’s front desk before a bank of computers and radios, lynch pin between the public and the police, and the man who calls out the cavalry when an officer needs help.
(See POSITION, page 4)
“Just from the safety end of it, you don’t want officers out there without communications,” Roy said. “It’s unthinkable. Sometimes we’re all they have.”
The police department maintains just four dispatchers to provide 24/7 service, which is a challenge in itself when vacations, sick leave and other time off is factored into the work schedule. That challenge became even more difficult with last week’s resignation of one dispatcher.
Police Chief Karen Shoemaker said the job can’t be filled too soon.
“The dispatchers are a valuable member of our team,” she said. “They can make or break an office.”
More than just a body to fill a seat, though, Shoemaker is seeking a mature, responsible candidate who recognizes the importance of the job, accepts the relatively moderate pay scale, and values the intangible benefit that comes from serving the public.
Roy, 46, has worked in the field since he was 21. Apart from a seven-year stint with the State Police in Romney, his entire career has been with the Keyser Police Department, serving under four different chiefs.
“There is a satisfaction that goes along with accomplishing things here, there is a reward to it for me,” he said. “It does give you a sense of giving back. You try to help people.”
Both Roy and Shoemaker said a dispatcher’s most important job is to prioritize the phone calls, radio relays and myriad duties of a communications officer, always putting officer safety first. Roy has had his share of intense moments over the years, and when an officer is dealing with a potentially dangerous situation or is in need of assistance, every other obligation takes a back seat. If someone is at the front desk to pay a parking ticket, they’ll have to wait.
“You go from the mundane to terror,” Roy said. “It’s zero-to-60 in seconds, then you come off of that just as quick.”
Like an officer in the field, Roy remembers the big cases. Manning the radio, dispatching backup from the Sheriff’s Department or State Police, giving directions and relaying messages, the dispatcher is almost as close to the scene of a crime as the officers themselves. Several years ago, Keyser had two homicides in the space of six months, a rarity for the community of 6,000.
“You remember those calls,” Roy said. “Those homicides happened years ago and I still remember the calls. It’s not for everybody.”
Discussing the nature of the job, though, Roy frequently returns to the satisfaction he gets from helping other people. Just as most police officers don’t join the ranks for the money alone, the better dispatchers are drawn to the field in part out of a sense of public service.
“This is not just a job,” he said. “You can’t come here just because you need a job.”
In addition to fielding phone calls from the public and attending to the window where residents pay tickets, request finger-printing and conduct other business with the department, dispatchers operate the teletype that provides access to national crime data bases. Keyser accesses the teletype not just for its own officers — running a background on a driver’s license, for example — but also for DNR, the county prosecutor, the courts, the Housing Authority and the Piedmont Police Department. Dispatchers also operate the department radio and a radio tied to the county 911 office. A second computer provides information on cases being handed by the department.
Shoemaker, who plans to advertise for the vacant position this week, invited anyone interested to contact the police department at (304) 788-1311. The position requires one week of training in Charleston, followed by two to three weeks of on-the-job training. The chief is hoping for a candidate who appreciates the importance of the position. “It’s so important to have a person who’s dedicated and responsible,” she said. “I put our communications department up against any in the state.”
