2A Polk County Itemizer-Observer • April 22, 2015
Polk County News
Indy Police earns accreditation from OAA
By Emily Mentzer
The Itemizer-Observer
INDEPENDENCE — The Inde-
pendence Police Department has
been doing things right for a num-
ber of years, and now it is an ac-
credited agency
through Oregon
Accreditation Al-
liance (OAA).
“One of the
things we learned
right away is we
were doing really
well,” Lt. Rick
Igou said about
Igou
the process of ac-
creditation. “We were already per-
forming at the national standards.
Some things we were really close,
but we weren’t quite there. In that
regard, it made us be better in cer-
tain areas.”
To qualify for accreditation, law
enforcement agencies must prove
that they meet national standards
based on best practices in 102 cat-
egories, for everything from oaths
of office to job descriptions, high-
speed chases to use of force.
Igou, who retires in June, was as-
signed the job by Chief Bob Mason
to get the department accredited
before he retired. With a deadline
in place, the longtime goal of ac-
creditation has come to fruition.
While the department met na-
tional standards in many cate-
gories, some things needed to be
improved to reach accreditation
standards.
For example, the temporary
holding facility was not up to par.
“That one has a huge list of
things that needed to happen to
Police
make us compliant,” Igou said.
The holding facility is located in
the middle of the building and is
used as a walkway for officers
coming on and off duty. But to be
approved by the Department of
Corrections, a holding facility must
be a weapons-free zone when a
suspect or prisoner is within the
area.
“But if officer A brings in a pris-
oner, how does officer B — just
coming on duty, hasn’t been here,
hasn’t been listening to the radio,
so he’s just walking through — how
does he know it’s a weapons-free
zone?” Igou said.
After inspections from both the
fire marshal and the Department
of Corrections, Igou proposed a
red light system. If an officer brings
a prisoner into the temporary
holding facility, he or she turns on
a red light, which alerts any officer
entering the area that it is
weapons-free.
“That’s one (example) of what’s
the piece we’re missing, and how
do you achieve it,” Igou said. “If we
do this, does that meet standard?”
Igou noted that most of the poli-
cies — and how closely aligned
they were to national standards al-
ready — was the result of the high
expectations held by retired chief
Vern Wells.
“He had us performing at a high
level,” Igou said. “We weren’t ac-
credited. We didn’t even know
what the individual standards
were, but he had us performing at
a high level.”
Independence Police joins the
61 agencies in Oregon involved in
the OAA, said Ed Boyd, executive
director of the OAA and retired po-
lice chief.
IPD and the Polk County Sher-
iff’s Office are the only accredited
agencies, Boyd said, noting that
Monmouth PD is working toward
accreditation, and Dallas PD was
accredited until a few months ago.
“They left temporarily but will
be coming back as soon as they are
able,” Boyd said.
‘Military Mistress’ stopped,
but not arrested in Alabama
By Jolene Guzman
The Itemizer-Observer
SALEM — “Military Mis-
tress” Bobbi Ann House and
her latest husband Zackerie
House were stopped in Ala-
bama last week, but not ar-
rested, despite being wanted
for check fraud in three states.
Officials with the Mobile
County Sheriff’s Office in Al-
abama notified the Marion
County Sheriff’s Office that
officers had stopped the
couple on near Interstate 10.
They were driving a stolen
vehicle that they were be-
lieved to be living out of.
Mobile County officers
seized the vehicle, but re-
leased the couple, unable to
determine local charges, ac-
cording to police.
Marion County is seeking
help from state and federal
agencies due to jurisdiction-
al issues on the case. If the
couple does return to Ore-
gon, the sheriff’s office has
probable cause to arrest
them on charges of unau-
thorized use of a motor vehi-
cle and theft by deception,
both felonies.
The Houses have been
implicated in a check fraud
spree totaling $13,500 in
Oregon, Colorado and Okla-
homa.
Marion County deputies
discovered the fraud after
being called to Universal
Auto Sales, 399 Lancaster
Drive NE, Salem.
The couple used a check
to make a $1,500 down pay-
ment on a 2005 Cadillac Es-
calade which was seized in
Alabama. The check was
written on an account
opened at the Dallas Wells
Fargo branch. They started
their spree in Western Ore-
gon, moving through coastal
towns, then heading out of
state. Spanning March 11 to
March 30, the couple wrote
$13,500 in bad checks at lo-
cations including Cabellas,
Safeway and Bi-Mart.
Bobbi House was coined
the “Military Mistress” after
she married at least 14 Unit-
ed States service members
and proceeded to steal their
money. She was convicted in
2011 and sentenced to three
years in prison.
Police asks anyone who
has been a victim of the
Houses or has information
on the case to contact local
police or the Oregon State
Police.
Recognizing crime victims
JOLENE GUZMAN/Itemizer-Observer
The flags on the Polk County Courthouse lawn Monday recognize victims of crime assisted
by the county’s Victim Assistance Program. Each color represents a type of crime: property
crime, domestic violence, violent crimes, DUIIs, sexual assault and child abuse.
■ PUBLIC
NOTICE
Notice of Regular Meeting
The MINET Board of Direc-
tors will hold a Regular Meet-
ing at 7:30 a.m., on Thursday,
April 30, 2015. The board will
meet at the Independence
Civic Center, 555 South Main
Street, Independence, OR
97351, in the Event Center.
The meeting location is ac-
cessible to persons with dis-
abilities. A request for an in-
terpreter for the hearing im-
paired, or for other accommo-
dations for persons with dis-
abilities, should be made at
least 48 hours in advance of
the meeting to Marilyn Morton,
Office Administrator, 503 837-
0700.
The agenda is accessible by
visiting our website at:
www.minetfiber.com
(Apr. 22, 2015)