BY KIRK SWAUGER
The Tribune-Democrat
GARRETT
April 19, 2008 11:57 pm
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Last month, Garrett Borough Officer Tom Keller said he was conducting undercover surveillance inside Hostetler’s Tavern when a patron began waving an 8-inch knife.
Keller said he initially called an on-duty officer from neighboring Summit Township for assistance, but was told Summit police are prohibited from helping.
Instead, Keller said he had to delay the man outside after the bar closed, waiting for state police to arrive from Somerset.
Once the man found out Keller was a police officer, he allegedly became violent and had to be pepper-sprayed.
Along with the knife, Keller said police found cocaine in the man’s possession.
“If I could have had additional officers from neighboring departments, I feel that situation never would have happened,” said Keller, also the police chief in Confluence.
Summit and Meyersdale police have stopped providing backup for routine calls in Garrett, saying they are concerned about Keller’s tactics.
In October, Garrett hired Keller as its lone part-time officer after ending a contract for coverage from Summit Township.
Summit Township Chief Nathan Claycomb said his department will assist Garrett in life-threatening situations, but not on other calls.
By conducting undercover surveillance in bars in a hometown where he is well known, Keller is placing himself and potentially other officers in dangerous situations, Claycomb said.
“This guy’s made the bed he’s laying in from some of the cowboying he’s done,” Claycomb said. “We’re not going to put ourselves in the middle of some thunderstorm we have no business being involved in the first place.”
Bill Forrest, chairman of Meyersdale Borough Council’s police committee, said Meyersdale officers will respond if a Garrett officer is in imminent danger.
He declined further comment.
Meyersdale Chief Dave Hollern could not immediately be reached for comment Friday.
The Meyersdale department has sent a letter to Somerset County 911 indicating it will not respond to routine calls in Garrett, Somerset County 911 Coordinator Dave Fox confirmed.
The letter says Garrett is to call state police for initial backup, and Meyersdale will respond only in life-threatening situations, Fox said.
Complicating the matter, Keller was the officer involved in a chase that began after a routine traffic violation in Confluence in which former Meyersdale Chief Sheridan Caton, then an Elk Lick Township officer, was killed four years ago. As he was responding to help at a reduced speed, Caton died in a traffic crash, authorities said.
Claycomb said his department’s refusal to provide routine assistance is tied solely to Keller and is not related to Summit losing the Garrett contract.
“It has absolutely nothing to do with that,” Claycomb said. “If it would be any other officer we’d trust, we would back him up to the full extent.”
Keller, who works 12 hours a week in Garrett, said he routinely stops at the two bars in the borough once a shift to provide a police presence, and also does undercover work at the taverns. He said the undercover operations have netted results, including drug and weapons arrests.
Keller stressed he does not drink, saying he has gout. “I don’t consume alcoholic beverages,” he said.
Don Hostetler, owner of Hostetler’s Tavern, said he welcomes the police coverage.
Pointing to the incident last month, Hostetler said: “I think it’s OK what he’s doing. It paid off one other time here, didn’t it?”
Hostetler said Keller does not drink alcohol when he’s in the bar.
“No, no, no, no, no,” Hostetler emphasized. “He drinks water or Diet Pepsi – I can tell you that.”
Keller said information gleaned at the bars has been passed on to state police to help solve crimes in the southern part of Somerset County.
Garrett Mayor Cindy Duerring strongly backed Keller.
“Tom’s done more since October as far as drug busts and helping the state police than Summit did in the two years they were here,” Duerring said.
“The owners of the bars, they want him there.”
Duerring said she is convinced the neighboring departments’ action is retaliation for Summit losing the police contract.
“This is more of a vendetta,” she said.
“At the last meeting in September, before we ended the contract, Nathan (Claycomb) said that if we severed the contract, he’d make sure he would have them refused backup. He’s succeeded as far as Summit and Meyersdale are concerned.”
Without immediate help from neighboring departments, Keller said he is concerned about safety.
He pointed to a routine traffic stop last week in which a North Carolina driver had a suspended license and was skittish when answering questions.
Through a call to 911, Keller said he found out the man was wanted for embezzlement.
As he waited for assistance from Elk Lick Township police – 15 minutes away near Salisbury – Keller said a Summit officer drove past.
“I’m worried about officer safety,” Keller said. “I just want to get this resolved.”
Claycomb declined to comment on specific concerns about Keller, although he said the bar stops, such as the situation at Hostetler’s Tavern last month, raise a red flag.
“No one goes into a bar by himself to conduct an undercover investigation – just for that exact scenario,” Claycomb said.
“It’s not that one incident per se. It’s been many incidents over the years, even before he worked in Garrett.”
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