Dayton Police Department

PICTURED ABOVE

With its close proximity of Cincinnati, Ohio, police officers with the Dayton Police Department often find themselves in the same situations as their big-city counterparts. Pictured from left: Officer Phil Liles, Police Chief David Halfhill, officers Brett Lockman and Josh Wilhoit. (Photo by Jim Robertson)

Dayton’s motto – “Big city fun with a small community feel” – says it all, according to Police Chief David Halfhill. 

The city, located in the bend of the Ohio River, is three miles from Cincinnati. Because of its proximity to the Queen City, Dayton police officers see just about everything a larger department would encounter, Halfhill said.

“Drugs are a big problem,” Halfhill said. “Heroin was bad in the past, but we’re not dealing with that as much now. Now, we see meth.”

The chief said drug dealers who reside in northern Kentucky travel to Cincinnati, pick up their product and peddle it on the Kentucky side of the Ohio River.

The reason for that method of distribution is simple, Halfhill said. Kentucky’s drug laws are stiffer than Ohio’s, the chief opined.

Partnerships

To combat the problem, Dayton has an officer on the Northern Kentucky Drug Task Force, and that relationship has paid off several times.

“We had a big take down a few months ago where 20-plus people were arrested,” Halfhill said. “It was heroin, meth, marijuana, pills and Fentanyl.”

Dayton Police Chief David Halfhill his department of 14 full-time officers sees a variety of calls including ranging from drugs to domestic violence. Halfhill has been chief of the police department since January 2015. (Photo by Jim Robertson)

Big city problems often require a large workforce. Limited with a department of 14 full-time officers, including the chief, Dayton leans heavily on partnerships formed with surrounding agencies.

“The good thing about having close relationships with other agencies in northern Kentucky is back up is just a few minutes away,” Halfhill said.

Dayton has officers serving on specialized teams such as the regional SWAT and crime scene units.

“This past July, we had a man who was at a party, he was intoxicated, and he was told to leave,” Halfhill said. “He went home, got his assault rifle and started popping shots in the house. We called SWAT in, and it was about a four-hour affair.”

Dayton also has two detectives in the Campbell County Crime Scene Unit.

Recalling a time when a traffic stop led to the discovery of a dead body buried in a basement, Halfhill said the partnership proved its worth.

“We stopped a guy on a traffic stop, and he had a warrant, and he said, ‘I know where a body is’” Halfhill said. “We went down in the basement, and the cadaver dogs hit on it. We’re like, ‘Crap. Maybe this guy is telling the truth.’ So, we got consent from the homeowner to dig up the basement, and we called the crime scene unit in. All of their guys came in and did the job. I couldn’t have paid for all of that.”

After investigation, it was discovered the person died of natural causes, and his caregivers wanted to keep collecting disability checks.

Code Enforcement

While drugs and major crimes grab headlines, perhaps a bigger headache to the department is the number of parking complaints they receive. Because of the large number of code enforcement complaints, including parking, DPD hired a sworn officer dedicated to code enforcement issues. 

Dayton Police Officer Phil Liles retired from the nearby Newport Police Department and became Dayton’s sworn code enforcement officer in 2018. The DPD routinely gets code enforcement-related calls, and Police Chief David Halfhill felt a sworn presence in the position would command more respect. (Photo by Jim Robertson)

Officer Phil Liles, a retired police captain with the Newport Police Department, was hired into the code enforcement position in 2018.

“We have a big parking issue here,” Halfhill said. “We have more parking complaints than anything else, including drugs. People call saying someone is parked in front of my house with Ohio tags, and they haven’t moved.”

By dedicating a sworn position to code enforcement, the chief said citizens take it more seriously.

“If a civilian were coming onto someone’s property saying the property owner needed to repair their gutters or paint that, they would be run off the property,” the chief said. “If you have an officer in uniform who does have arrest powers, they’ll get a little bit more respect and won’t get treated that way.”

From the drug problem to code enforcement issues, Dayton offers many challenges for its officers.