30 Halloweens...

Interim Chief Joe A. Bartlett is retiring today.  30 years of police work is a long time.  

Chief Bartlett,  or "Jab" as friends know him, was born and raised in Goldsboro.  He graduated from East Carolina and received his Master of Public Administration from ECU.   He started working at the Greenville Police Department shortly after graduation in 1985. 

He has been a dispatcher, patrol officer, Policy Researcher, Vice & Narcotics Supervisor, Patrol Sergeant, Patrol Lieutenant, Administration Bureau Commander, Patrol Bureau Commander, Investigations Bureau Commander, Deputy Chief of Police, and Interim Chief of Police.  He is also a graduate of the 182nd session of the FBI National Academy.  It is a very rare process for an officer in law enforcement today to move up through the ranks to become Police Chief, especially in a department as large as Greenville PD.

Chief Bartlett knows the history of this City and its Police Department.  He has seen the Department grow 
from a small town police force to a modern law enforcement agency, recognized state-wide as one of the best.   

He has seen the evolution of the Greenville Police Department go from typewriters and carbon paper, to computers and wireless technology; from blue steel revolvers to polymer and steel semi-automatics.   He was part of the growth of the department from fewer than 75 police offers to over 187 police officers now. 

Throughout his time at the Greenville Police Department, Chief Bartlett has sought to maintain a professional approach to his career.  He has been firm when necessary, and fair at all times. He is a strategic thinker, and he has always put the interests of the Department and its success above his own self interests.

Chief Bartlett enjoys fishing. He has traveled to Montana on many fishing trips, and plans to go fishing in Alaska after he retires.

Jab has been a leader and supervisor.  He has been a manager and a counselor.  He has been a mentor.  He has been a friend.

Jab, you will be missed.

No tricks..

As Halloween nears, the Greenville Police Department offers the following safety tips for making the evening safe and enjoyable for everyone: 

For Parents and Trick- or-Treaters:

• Halloween costumes should be made of fire retardant material and the eye holes should be large enough for good peripheral vision.

• A parent or responsible adult should always accompany young children.

• If your older children are going alone, plan and review the route that is acceptable to you.  Agree on a specific time when they should return home.

• Only go to homes with a porch light on and never enter a home or car for a treat.

• Before allowing your children to eat any of the treats, examine them to be sure they are safe to eat.

Drivers should be on the alert for children who may dart out into traffic.  Because pedestrian injuries are the most common injury types to children on Halloween, remind Trick-or-Treaters:

• Carry a cell phone, stay with a group, and communicate where they will be going.

• Remain on well-lit streets and always use the sidewalk. If no sidewalk is available, walk at the far edge of the roadway facing traffic.

• Only cross the street at established crosswalks and don't assume the right of way.  Drivers may have trouble seeing Trick-or-Treaters.

As a reminder, the City’s curfew law remains in effect for Halloween.   Young people under the age of 16 should not be on the streets without adult supervision after 11:00 p.m.  And, as always, call the Greenville Police Department immediately when you suspect crimes or see suspicious activity.

No retirement plan...

On Thursday October 25, at about 3:49 a.m., Greenville Police officers responded to a commercial alarm at the Rite Aid drugstore on Charles Blvd near Fourteenth Street.

A police dog began to track the suspect from the drug store west toward Evans Street and across Evans to Glen Arthur Street, where police had 70-year-old Richard Taylor detained for a field interview.  Officers had seen Taylor as he crossed Evans Street just moments before.

Further investigation by the patrol officers found surveillance videos inside the store confirmed Taylor broke into the drug store. 

Taylor was arrested and jailed under a $15,000 secured bond at the Pitt County Detention Center.  He is charged with one count of felony breaking & entering.

The case remains under investigation.  Additional charges may be brought.  There was no information available as to what was stolen.

Detective work....

Acting on information received from Pitt Greenville CrimeStoppers, detectives from the Greenville Police Department Property Crimes Unit have identified and arrested Richard Taft in reference to a series of apartment burglaries that took place over the past month.   These burglaries occurred along the Firetower Road corridor, on Wimbledon Drive,  Dudley’s Grant, and Firetower Road.   An additional burglary took place on Merry Lane.

Detectives believe that Taft broke in to the apartments during the daylight hours while the residents were at work.  He is believed to have stolen televisions, computers, and other electronics, jewelry, and shoes from at least six apartments.

Detectives obtained arrest warrants against Taft on October 22, 2012.  He was arrested without incident and is charged with the following:

• 4 counts of felony breaking & entering
• 2 counts of attempted felony breaking & entering
• 3 counts of larceny after breaking & entering

Detectives continue to follow up on other cases and additional arrests and charges against Taft may take place.

Taft was jailed under a $45,000 secured bond.

Radio and Telephone communications...

In response to requests from the news media, the Greenville Police Department has retrieved radio and telephone communications from October 17, 2012 regarding the shooting and murder of Benjamin Shields III.  These recordings are part of the public record, and media representatives often request such recordings.    

You can listen to these recordings by following the available web link to Youtube.

Here is the web link to radio and telephone traffic:  Police Communications: Homicide

It is important to remember these recordings are not always in sequential order because different radio channels are being used simultaneously and people are often talking at the the same time on the different frequencies.   Nevertheless, these recordings will provide you with a general understanding of the various events that occur in these situations.

This week at the GPD...

On Thursday October 18, Greenville Police Detectives were called to the scene of a suspicious fire, which had been extinguished prior to police arrival.  

During the overnight hours unknown suspect(s) appear to have used a glass container filled with an unknown flammable liquid to attempt to burn a storage building.  Minimal damage to the building was done.  Smoke damage and melted siding accounts for damage to the exterior of the building. There was no damage to any portion of the building interior.

The Greenville Fire-Rescue Department Fire Marshal also responded and both agencies are cooperatively investigating the incident. Physical evidence was collected at the scene.  There is no suspect information available.  

The case investigation continues.

At about 2:00 a.m. on Tuesday October 16,  Officer Matt Pipken responded to the report of a driver passed out behind the wheel in the travel lane at Evans Street near Greenville Blvd.   When the officer got to the scene, he found a driver asleep and the vehicle stopped in the middle of the road.    

Officer Pipken was able to wake up the driver who, once alert, told the officer, "I have a lot of weed, can you help me out?"    Officer Pipken was able to provide overnight lodging for the man.    Seized was 59 grams of marijuana, packaged for resell, along with $1265 cash.

Quiet professionals..

On Wednesday, October 17, 2012 Greenville Police Corporal Tim McInerney and other members of the US Marshals Eastern District Violent Fugitive Task Force were awarded the William French Smith Award for Outstanding Contributions to Cooperative Law Enforcement at the US Attorney General’s 60th Annual Awards Ceremony in Washington, DC.  

Other members of the Task Force are Pitt County Deputy Sheriff Joe Reason, Kinston PD Detective Jimmy Moody, SBI Special Agent Chris Dawson, and Nash County Sheriff’s Investigator Warren Lewis (posthumous).  

Corporal McInerney was recognized by US Attorney General Eric Holder for his efforts to save fellow Task Force Officer Warren “Sneak” Lewis after Lewis was fatally struck by gunfire while the team was attempting to arrest a murder suspect in Kinston, NC.

Task Force Officers partner with Deputy US Marshals to apprehend violent fugitives in their area.  This team is responsible in part for the closing over 3,300 fugitive warrants in Eastern North Carolina.