WHAT YOU NEED NOW - CONTENT UPDATED THROUGH THE DAY

Jan. 2, 2006
 
NIGHT SHIFT NEW YEAR’S EVE: Cop Radio Hears Stabbing at Davis Place, Handcuffed Subject Runs up 5th Ave.; Fight Breaks Out at Matrix; Jail Van Made Ready for Use
 
By Tony Rutherford
Huntington News Network Writer
 
Huntington, WV (HNN) --Despite a rash of fireworks mistaken as ‘shots fired’ in the Charleston and Doulton Avenue sections of the city, the Huntington Police Department managed to keep the revelers safe from themselves.
 
As of 2:30 a.m. Jan. 1, 2006, the most serious incident under investigation was a stabbing at Davis Place, a south side bar. The condition of the victim was not reported, but officers have one or more suspects in the incident. At the time of this report, they had one subject allegedly returning to the scene for questioning. However, the subject’s cooperativeness waned when told that officers had not found a debit card but wanted to discuss a stabbing. The subject kept traveling past Norway and into Barboursville.
 
After, first telling that she could not get a ride back to the city, an officer offered to bring her debit car to her. Shortly thereafter, the woman and her boyfriend were allegedly headed back to the scene of the incident.
 
EMS and police arrived at Chickadee’s about 2:35 a.m., but the assault victim refused treatment and his friends apparently ushered him away from the club. The police force earlier contended with a rowdy group near the MU football stadium, where the partiers were disbursed without major problems.
 
An armed robbery report by an individual in the vicinity of Sixth Avenue and 16th Street resulted in disputed claims.
 
Still, the volume of calls and complaints --- loud parties, banging on cars, chasing a woman up Fifth Avenue, drunken individuals staggering in the street and yelling as well as other disturbances --- resulted in a lengthy, pre-stated delays for the arrival of an officer to handle routine reports.
 
For example, within seconds after the report of men chasing a female up Fifth came in, an officer reported that there were no subjects in the stated location. Of course, that report came simultaneously with a holdup alarm that fortunately stemmed from an accidental push by a new employee.
 
As a “release [radio] traffic,” occurred altering officers to slow the hold up response , a sheriff’s deputy called for assistance in the pursuit of a subject on Fifth Avenue near City Hall, who just happened to have a set of handcuffs on him.
 
As 3 a.m. approached, officers were still waiting for the subjects to return to Davis’.
 
Officer: “Can you give our friends in the Chevy another call? We have her debit card.”
 
Dispatch: “I think she wants to come and get it, he does not.”
 
Meanwhile , two officers requested additional units for a fight in progress --- inside and outside --- of The Matrix on Fourth Avenue. By 3:07 a.m.
 
another additional unit was requested due to reports of a man with a gun amongst the fighters. Officers not detained at the earlier stabbing were told to come on down to Fourth Avenue.
 
A tell-tale “hold [non-emergency radio] traffic suggested that the arrival of bar emptying time had perhaps complicated curbing the Matrix brawl. At 3:15 p.m., the radio reports started up again with officers altering that at least three, no make it four, arrestees in connection with the fight.
 
No call for EMS, so at least no serious injuries. A report that a disturbance (when did it happen?) in front of Banana Joe’s was over. And, one officer indicated that the jail transportation van would be needed this morning.
 
Meanwhile, the debit card remained unclaimed. It seems that the owner or owners thought better of returning to the crime scene. Instead, they apparently called and threatened someone to not talk about the incident. It’s now 3:33 a.m. Commanders seem wary of hearing the backlog of so-called “routine” calls.
 
But, now, the subject from the Chickadee’s bar incident has called “about 20 times” and has showed up at HQ. He’s demanding immediate assistance or he will keep calling.
 
Then came a call from McCoy Road. A caller claims that a golf ball-sized bullet just went through his dwelling… and he claims it came from an HPD car across the street. He wants to speak with a supervisor! The caller’s vision sounds faulty … nearly all of the night shift is out at HQ booking arrestees.
 
Yawn, my eyes are becoming heavy as the Twilight Zone marathon continues, no, it’s not from the scanner, it’s for now coming from the Sci-Fic Channel, but the New Year’s Eve night shift does not wrap until 7 a.m. As of 3:51 a.m., though, the CR reports are at 007 (and counting) for the very young 2006!
 
(Note: Although most of the information for this story came from the scanner, a few chronological details have been altered to protect ongoing investigations and for narrative purposes.)