FOLLOW UP: Concerns and praises shared for Boonville Police Department during latest village meeting public comment session

BOONVILLE- Tuesday night’s village board meeting brought out a crowd of about two-dozen or so people.

During the public comment session, the vast majority of remarks focused around the Village Police Department.

Lately, the department has been subject to several social media frenzies, where folks have been airing out their frustrations over a ramped up enforcement effort under the new Chief of Police, Dave Olney, who took over the helm nearly a full year ago.

Specifically, it appears those who have been complaining on social media are citing minor traffic violations and tinted windows, especially.

As previously reported, the new Police Chief, who is retired from the New York State Police, has made clear that most window tint in New York is illegal and enforcement, in general, has been very lax.

This public comment session was brought to attention to the social media world specifically, thanks to post made by Boonville resident, Shannon Schuler.

She and a few others aired their concerns and the atmosphere remained peaceful. One of these concerns appears to be that people are starting to avoid the Boonville area in fear of being ticketed.

There have been several remarks made on social media that reflect that, as brought up during the public comment session.

On the other hand, a local business owner in attendance said she has not witnessed any sort of decrease in customers at her establishment, though she went on to say that she was not speaking on behalf of all business owners. 

Meanwhile, there were just as many people who showed up and vocalized their support for Boonville Police, if not a few more.

Examples include praise for the most recent investigation that resulted in a felony aggravated animal cruelty arrest.

Other folks sounded the alarm in a suggestive way for increased patrols to watch the elementary school crosswalks and to keep an extra sharp eye out for speeding vehicles on select streets.

As far as the apparent increase in traffic enforcement, one resident suggested that the village police focus more on discernment for when it comes to traffic stops.

For anyone still wishing to share any concerns or have their questions answered, Chief Olney invites folks to reach out to his office number: 315-338-2882.

Image via the village of Boonville.