Trend of increased service calls continues in March 2008

RBC — The trend of increased calls for service continued in March 2008, for the Meeker Police Department and the Rio Blanco County Sheriff’s Office with an increase of 13.04 percent year to date.
The total number of incidents taken through the communications center rose from 940 in March 2007, to 977 in March 2008.
The Meeker P.D. saw an increase in calls for service up from 174 in March 2007, to 190 in March 2008, with traffic stops dramatically increased from 32 in March 2007, to 101 in March 2008.
The sheriff’s office also saw an increase in calls for service up from 220 in March 2007, to 243 in March 2008, while the number of traffic stops decreased from 474 in March 2007, to 401 in March 2008.
As with February 2008, not only did the number of incidents increase but also the serious nature of the calls in March 2008. The numbers of the most notable incidents for both the sheriff’s office and the Meeker P.D. were as follows: 502 traffic stops; 36 suspicious incidents; 33 accidents with property damage; 29 traffic complaints; 28 incidents assisting the Colorado State Patrol; 16 warrant arrests; 11 narcotics cases; 10 traffic arrests; eight disturbances; eight thefts; six DUIs, four criminal mischief incidents; three hit and run accidents, three sexual assaults; two injury accidents; one burglary; one domestic violence incident; one fraud case and one homicide, which was the officer involved shooting at the Valley Motel.
For March 2008, the average daily inmate population for the Rio Blanco County Detention Center was 15.10 inmates, of those, 12.97 were male inmates and 2.13 were female inmates. The detention center also served 1,254 meals during March 2008. Detentions deputies booked 54 people in March 2008, of those 43 people were jailed and 11 were booked and released.
In recent events, Meeker Police Officer Mike Washburn and Sergeant Patrick Darrow of the Rio Blanco County Sheriff’s Office responded to Andrea’s Market Street Grill Sunday, May 4 at 3:23 a.m. after receiving a report that a man had shot himself. Meeker Volunteer Rescue Crews arrived at the scene and pronounced Alfonso Torres, 25, most recently of Parachute, Colo. dead at the scene. The Meeker Police Department is investigating this death further; however, preliminary findings have determined that Torres died from a self inflicted gunshot wound.
Sergeant Patrick Darrow assisted Colorado State Patrol Trooper Mike Heath Friday, May 2 at 4:12 p.m. with an accident at 24400 County Road 5 in the Piceance Creek Basin. Initially, reports about the accident stated that the accident was a rollover involving a semi truck hauling a mud tank. Subsequent information revealed that the semi and tanker, driven by Richard Ramm, 51, of Ontario, Canada, was resting against a power pole. White River Electric Association was dispatched to the accident location. Power was off in the Piceance Creek area for approximately one hour during the removal of the accident. Ramm was not injured in the accident.