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Email: "Legislator Runkle recognized for his service"
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MAYVILLE — Because of John Runkle, Chautauqua County is a better and safer place to live, according to District Attorney David Foley. A former member of the Southern Tier Regional Drug Task Force, Runkle recently received a plaque from Foley for his 28 years of service with the Chautauqua County Sheriff’s Department. Following his career in law enforcement, the now retired lieutenant was appointed to the County Legislature. A Republican from Stockton, Runkle won another term in District 6. Foley had high praises for Runkle, explaining that during his tenure, Runkle was a “moving force” in the county’s narcotics law enforcement. Especially noteworthy, Foley said, are Runkle’s accomplishments in terms of putting both mid- and high-level drug dealers in state and federal prisons through sophisticated and intensive drug investigations. “During his career, Legislator Runkle supervised and participated in literally hundreds and hundreds of narcotics investigations,” Foley said. “Because of John, Chautauqua County is a better and safer place to live. I can’t praise him enough for what he did.” Calling it a pleasure to have worked with Runkle, Foley said he always “found John to be an honest man with a great deal of integrity. He is an individual who takes pride in whatever he wants to accomplish and works hard toward that end.” Runkle was unanimously appointed to the County Legislature in January to fill the seat of Brian Abram, a former legislator who vacated the seat to become the County Republican Election Commissioner. Runkle’s legislative district includes the towns of Pomfret and Stockton. Prior to becoming a County Legislator, Runkle was the Stockton Town Supervisor for nine years. Runkle currently sits on the County Legislature’s Public Safety Committee, where his years of experience in law enforcement prove beneficial when making decisions regarding public safety issues. Through its work, the Southern Tier Regional Drug Task Force generates information which Foley described as invaluable to his office — not only for narcotics cases, but for all types of ancillary crime and quality of life cases. According to Foley, information supplied by the Drug Task Force aided the D.A.’s office in a of the several homicides which happened in 2008. “They know the players,” Foley said. “They know the individuals involved in these things and they know their relationships with each other. The information developed can be used in the drug trade, but it can also be used in so many crime investigations, such as burglaries and homicides. The value these guys bring to law enforcement in general is really, really huge.” After receiving his plaque, Runkle spoke of increasing funding to the Southern Tier Regional Drug Task Force so that the Dunkirk, Fredonia and Jamestown police departments could continue supplying full-time officers to the task force. “I have over 10 years of experience as the director of the Task Force and I understand the significance of continuing this operation,” Runkle said. “I am intimately familiar with the operations of the task force since I had literally lived this job for many years.” Runkle had hoped to have money added into the 2010 county budget to help the three member communities continue to participate in the task force. “I can tell you emphatically, from experience, that these officers are an integral part of the success of the task force,” Runkle said. “I have personally assigned these officers to all areas of this county from time to time whenever a problem arose in terms of drug trafficking. There is no part of this county to which these officers have not been employed. Without them, the task force will be crippled in its efforts to curtail drug trafficking here in Chautauqua County. What concerns me the most is the inevitable increase in crime which will take place without these officers in place.” When the task force was initially created, federal grant monies were given to Dunkirk, Fredonia and Jamestown so that they would be able to allow officers to be on the task force. The funds were part of the reason why the agencies joined the task force. Because of the grant monies, the agencies were able to assign full-time officers to the task force. Since that time, the grant monies have dried up and the county is “now faced with the untenable position of having to perhaps lose those officers because their agencies will not be able to afford to have them on the task force,” Runkle said. “The Southern Tier Regional Drug Task Force is a shining example of regionalism in action,” Runkle continued. “It is a combined effort of several police agencies joining together to fight the war on drugs. I am committed to doing everything I can to see that the task force continues to operate effectively for the benefit and protection of all county residents.”

 

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