City Police Chief Matthew Gregory Announces Newly Configured Drug Task Force
Updated: Dec 1, 2022
November 28, 2022
Mountaineer News
Buckhannon City Council
Buckhannon Police Chief Matthew Gregory addresses City Council during the November 17th Council meeting.
BUCKHANNON - During the November 17th City Council meeting, Buckhannon Police Chief Matthew Gregory announced the absorption of the Mountain Lakes Drug & Violent Crime Task Force into the Mountain Region Drug & Violent Crime Task Force.
"The Mountain Lakes Drug & Violent Crime Unit, which the Buckhannon Police Department has been a part of since 2018, has recently been absorbed into the Mountain Region Drug & Violent Crime Unit," Chief Gregory stated.
"Instead of two separate task forces operating within this region, it's now one big task force that we're part of. So, in addition to the counties that we had originally encompassed to include Upshur, Lewis, Braxton, Gilmer and Webster County, the realigned task force now include those, plus Randolph, Barbour, Tucker and Pocahontas counties," he said.
"I think this is well received amongst all the member agencies… this is a force multiplier that enables each of our agencies to network, to work together, to pull our resources together and combat the issues that we all face in all of our communities with drugs and violent crimes."
City Councilman David McCauley sought clarification regarding the 'absorption' or 'merger' of the combined task force, and asked if the City's financial obligations will remain the same...
Watch Chief Gregory's full merger announcement here:
Watch Chief Gregory answer Councilman McCauley's questions and explain what Randolph County becoming the Fiscal Agent for the combined task force means for the City of Buckhannon. City Council questions and comments are also included:
Because most of our drug addicts are in this situation because they got hooked on legally prescribed narcotics/medications, most of the population hopes the "task force" looks at all possible ways to criminally charge the SOBs that got them addicted.
Also, please work to "decriminalize" all drugs (take the money & crime out of the picture). All funds and energies need to go toward curing addiction, a MEDICAL problem.