Sheriff sets tone of policing throughout county, candidate Donnie Wheeler says

Apr. 27—FAIRMONT — Within the system of social issues facing Marion County, Donnie Wheeler sees substance abuse as No. 1.

"It's like a downstream effect," he said. "The drugs have led to all these other issues."

Wheeler is one of two candidates vying for the Republican Party nomination for sheriff of Marion County. Since there is no one running for the Democratic nomination, whoever wins the primary election May 14 will most likely be the next sheriff.

Wheeler is a law enforcement veteran of 39 years. He started his law enforcement career with the Mannington Police Department in 1984 where he served for 18 years. He spent a majority of his career working in the Marion County Sheriff's Office, but retired in 2022 to run for sheriff. He is currently back serving as chief of police in Mannington. His entire career has been spent in Marion County.

To address the fentanyl problem, Wheeler wants to increase the amount of information young people receive about the dangers of fentanyl as well as vaping. He said drugs amplify the kind of crimes individuals commit, which is why they are a priority for Wheeler.

To help combat them, Wheeler wants to build a close relationship with the other police departments in the county, as well as surrounding counties. Wheeler pointed out drugs traffic from county to county and city to city, making interdepartmental relationships and information sharing important in order to find solutions to the drug problem.

Building trust among the community is also important to Wheeler.

"You need to have a good relationship with the public," he said. "I want to gain the confidence of the people in the community and show them that we're there for them. This us/them mentality, I don't agree with that. We all need to be as one."

Part of building trust means ensuring the Sheriff's Department is accountable. Wheeler said he wants to make sure officers are out there serving people and doing the right thing. The responsibility for ensuring that falls on supervisors and the sheriff, he said. Whenever complaints arise, they need to be addressed in a manner to make sure they don't happen again.

"You don't want people going out and violating people's civil rights," he said. "You have laws to enforce but you want to do them in the correct way. I definitely don't want a bully department. I want a department that's out there serving people."

Ensuring proper accountability is important to law enforcement departments because it also affects the long term health of the department recruitment wise. James Nolan, a former law enforcement officer and sociology professor at West Virginia University who studies the police, has said in previous articles that the current perception of police has an impact on their ability to recruit. Add in wages that are uncompetitive with larger cities or the private sector, and it's a tough time for police agencies across the state when it comes to finding new officers.

"We gotta let people know that the sheriff's department is there for good, they're there for the good of the community," he said. "Make the job more appealing. Right now, law enforcement doesn't have a very good reputation. We got to build upon that, be transparent and let people know what's going on."

Several police departments across the county have only one or two officers, making it impossible to provide 24 hour protection. Wheeler sees one way to build a relationship with the community is to help cover the need smaller police departments have for patrol and law enforcement.

However, to be proactive, the sheriff's office itself needs to have enough officers on staff. Wheeler hopes by being transparent and holding the department accountable, it will help address the reputation issue and encourage more people to join the profession.

Transparency also means building a relationship with the press. Although there are certain things in law enforcement that need to be kept under wraps, such as active investigations, Wheeler said things like daily operations, working environment and relationship with the community are important things to let people know about.

"[The press] plays a big part, because how else would they know," Wheeler said. "That's a good streamline to get information out to them."

As for dealing with other dimensions of the substance abuse issue, Wheeler believes treatment also plays a large role. There are instances where, Wheeler said, an addiction or rehabilitation center would be more appropriate than jail time.

However, treatment isn't a one way street. Wheeler hopes those who are arrested for substance abuse end up working with drug court to get on the path wellness.

"That's a big part," he said. "They got to be willing to go get the help."

There's more to running the sheriff's department than patrolling and making arrests, he said. The office is also responsible for tax collection, home confinement, process division, transport, and maintaining the county's holding facility. Wheeler said it means a lot of hats to wear. Dealing with tax related issues will be a new experience for him. However, he said he knows the tax department does good work and is prepared to rely on the staff where necessary.

"I got a lot of learning to do when it comes to that, but I'm up for the task," he said. "In law enforcement, you learn something new everyday."

Schools are also an important area for Wheeler. He sees a role for school resource officers, making sure they have the education and training they need to teach students, teachers and parents about the dangers of fentanyl and vaping, working proactively to make sure students don't get into a troubled lifestyle. He also wants to make sure schools are secured against intruders.

Wheeler's favorite film is "Tombstone," and he enjoys westerns as a genre. He is especially drawn to Wyatt Earp, and the fact that the retired law enforcement officer survived through a lot. Back in those days, law enforcement meant going to different towns and cleaning them up.

Although the lawless days of the wild west have long passed, the role of sheriff is still an important one to rural communities like the ones in Marion County.

"The sheriff, he's the chief law enforcement officer of the county," Wheeler said. "Therefore, I believe the sheriff's department needs to set a good example as far as how they deal with people and how they answer calls, how they investigate crime. I want to have a dedicated department that goes out there and takes care of the problems we face every day in Marion County."

Reach Esteban at efernandez@timeswv.com