Corvallis police vehicles are parked near the west end of Ninth Avenue about 7:15 p.m. Friday.
On an evening bike ride Friday, I was surprised by the sight of five Corvallis police cars and about as many officers assembled near the west end of Ninth Avenue in Albany.
I remembered what Albany City Manager Peter Troedsson told the council in his Friday summary. His message was that the Albany police, like departments across the country, were having trouble recruiting replacements for officers who were retiring or otherwise leaving, and that this was causing problems.
“Within our own police department, we currently have a 25 percent shortage in patrol,” Troedsson wrote. “At the same time, mental health calls are on the rise. On June 8, we had four calls on one individual that tied up multiple resources. He was eventually committed to the hospital but was quickly released. The increasing mental health calls and decreased police staffing are further straining patrol staff. We’re working with partners at Linn and Benton County Mental Health and Samaritan hospitals to try to address the increased volume of calls.”
With that in mind, and because one of the Corvallis units was a community service vehicle, I thought that perhaps Albany had called on mutual aid from Corvallis because of some particular case.
No, the Corvallis officer I spoke with at the scene told me, it was nothing like that.
Instead, he said his department had been investigating something in Corvallis, and the investigation led to Albany. He wasn’t free to discuss the case or disclose details.
Anyhow, it was NOT a case of the neighboring department sending people to Albany to respond to a call for service because the APD was short of personnel. (hh)
It’s like Grandma Roseanne Roseannadanna said …”It’s always something”
FINALLY some action being taken on this place. Cars coming and going all times of the day and night, loud fighting, strange happenings. We’ve been watching for MANY months, called the police numerous times. I hope this action will result in a quieter neighborhood.
Why FIVE Corvallis police Cars?
Seems like a waste of resources unless they were planning to transfer suspects to Jail in Benton County.
Thank goodness something is finally being done with this house and its occupants They have cars coming and going at all hours, suspicious activity happening, and loud fighting from the couple living there. I’ve called the police numerous times to complain. We want our quiet neighborhood back!
Corvallis police are so frustrated with not being able to enforce the law over there they decided to come over here so at least they can feel like police officers. Albany welcomes the Corvallis police department.
Look at that, I was so happy I posted twice!
…”mental health calls are on the rise”…
Indeed they are. As was pointed out in the documentary, “Seattle Is Dying”, produced by KOMO, mental health is becoming more and more of a problem across the country. After watching that video, it’s pretty clear that there’s a drug connection. Whether the drugs cause the mental health issues, or vice versa, seems to be quite a controversy.