Lloyd Police Chief takes stock of 2020

By Mark Reynolds
Posted 1/27/21

Last week Lloyd Police Chief James Janso commented on 2020 and offered a few uplifting remarks for the new year.

“As 2021 begins, let us be reminded of the hope that lies ahead for this new …

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Lloyd Police Chief takes stock of 2020

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Last week Lloyd Police Chief James Janso commented on 2020 and offered a few uplifting remarks for the new year.

“As 2021 begins, let us be reminded of the hope that lies ahead for this new year. I would like to thank the Lloyd Town Board, town employees and the community for all their support during 2020, a year that was unprecedented and full of tragedy and the unknown. I would also like to thank the men and women of my department for their professionalism and dedication in working through the pandemic. While a lot of other people stayed home from work, our members were on the front lines, working every day putting themselves in harm’s way. Vacations and personal days had to be put on hold for officers and dispatchers for the majority of the year and they did so without any complaints to help keep the department operating and serving the community. They are the true heroes. Lastly, let us take a minute to remember and pray for the 763 town residents that have or had Covid-19 and the 48 residents that sadly and tragically lost their lives from the virus.”

Janso submitted a yearly activity report to the Town Board on actions taken by his department in 2020.

Last year the department received 20,165 calls for service. They handled 357 accidents comprised of 56 personal injury incidents and 301 property occurrences.

The department issued 104 parking tickets and 1,136 Uniform Traffic Tickets and made 209 arrests during the past 12 months.

The Department used Narcan to revive and save 8 lives in 2020. There were no fatalities. CPR was also performed on two people that resulted in saving their lives.

There were 50 PAUSE complaints issued for gatherings that were not in compliance with proper social distancing and the wearing of masks.

The department also assisted with 3 protest marches in town that were all peaceful.

Janso’s department also participated in NYS Harassment and Discrimination Compliance Training covering Unlawful Harassment Prevention; took instruction on Responsible Use of Social Media; Anti-Bias Policing (Part 1); Use of Force - An Overview; Law Enforcement and Police Use of Force; Below 100: Watch your Speed; Civilian Response to Active Shooter; Procedural Justice; Anti- Bias Training; Guide to Consensual Encounters; NYS Firearms Qualifications; Crisis Intervention Training; Supervisor School for Sergeants and training in CPR/AED and the use of Narcan.

The Department made a number of upgrades in 2020: Body Cameras have been ordered and are expected to be in service by February or March; a Live Scan fingerprint and photo identification system installed in booking room; Wi-Fi has been upgraded in the station for better connection to patrol vehicles and body cameras; Two new laptop computers for patrol vehicles were ordered and are expected to be installed this month; an upgrade was made to the back and side doors of station for better security and the NYS Police Reform and Reinvention Collaborative committee is in progress.

Chief Janso was asked about one vagrant often seen protesting at the intersection of Route 9W and Argent Drive near Hannafords. Janso said he is a homeless veteran and his officers have arrested him more than 15 times in 2020. Janso said they’ve brought him to the hospital a number of times because he is unable to care for himself but he is always released. They have also tried to get him in a rehab program offered by the county, “but he walked out of that. We’ve had the Veterans homeless shelter come down to place him in a hotel and he also walked out of that.”

Janso said the individual is allowed to stand where he is and wave his protest flag because of his First Amendment Rights but when he steps off the medium, “that’s when we have issues. It’s a burden but that’s what we’re dealing with. Unfortunately, we’re in a new phase; there is no place for these people to go and you can’t make them go somewhere they don’t want to go. We use all our resources that New York State has allotted to us in 2020 and we’ve used more resources for that one individual than I’ve ever seen with any other complaint before.”