Captain Richard C. Pulling

 

Sitting at the northwest corner of Kirkwood Highway at Prices Corner for the past 28 years is Delaware State Police Troop 6. The Barracks, or Troop, as it is more commonly referred to, originally housed the state police as well as the dispatch center for New Castle County. Presently, the building is home to an authorized strength of 55 uniform troopers and civilians. Troop 6 is under the command of Captain Richard C. Pulling, Lieutenant Peter Sawyer and Lieutenant Michael Wintermantel. The command staff is supported daily by two administrative assistants and a mechanic.

Troop 6 covers approximately 82 square miles of northwestern New Castle County from the Wilmington city limits west to Maryland and north to Pennsylvania. The troop area has a diverse socio-economic population of approximately 200,000 people. The Delaware State Police shares the policing responsibility with several other police departments; Elsmere Police Department, Newport Police Department, New Castle County Police, Newark Police Department and the University of Delaware Police Department.

The uniform and civilian staff at Troop 6 provide professional services to the citizens they serve. The civilian staff is dedicated and hard working with 65 years of combined service. The troopers assigned to Troop 6 are by necessity a well balanced, enthusiastic, hard charging group of young men and women dedicated to the citizens of Delaware. The troopers manage a complaint load that is traditionally the highest in the state. It is no easy task for the uniform side of the house, nor is it easy for the civilian staff to process the workload of the troopers in the field. After 30 years of service for the state of Delaware, Ellis Chandler continues to keep the Troop 6 fleet in good working order.

Troopers at Troop 6 respond to approximately 40,000 calls for service each year, involving more than 24,000 criminal complaints and the investigation of nearly 3,000 automobile crashes. Tragically, nineteen people lost their lives on the highways of Troop 6 over the past two years, four whom were under the age of 17. Pedestrian violations, motorcycle violations, speed and alcohol were the primary contributing factors in the vast majority of the deaths. It is the philosophy of the Delaware State Police that aggressive traffic enforcement has a direct correlation related to a decrease in fatal accidents. Troopers write nearly 20,000 traffic tickets each year, of which nearly 12,000 are dangerous moving violations and nearly 600 were for driving under the influence.

Troopers at Troop 6 are relentless in pursuing the criminal element and have made numerous arrests during the year leading to seizures of cash, weapons and drugs being smuggled through the state. "Looking beyond the traffic ticket" and turning a "routine" car stop into a criminal arrest is becoming commonplace. As an example of the great work the troopers have done, during the latter part of 2006, Corporal Douglas Brietzke made several traffic stops along Interstate 95 that yielded more than 50 illegal aliens being smuggled into the United States, the seizure of weapons, drugs, drug paraphernalia and more than $37,000 in suspected proceeds from drug and/or illegal criminal activity. In May 2007 Senior Corporal James Cras stopped a car for speed and seized more than $20,000 earmarked to buy drugs destined for sale on a major university campus in Virginia. Corporal John Andrew Lloyd interrupted a human smuggling operation in August 2007 involving smuggling illegal aliens through the state to the mushroom farms of Pennsylvania.

The year 2007 was highlighted by some significant in-progress criminal apprehensions. In June 2007, The Gordon's Jeweler's at Prices Corner Shopping Center was robbed at gunpoint. A witness reported the in-progress crime and the quick response by troopers and other police officers resulted in two suspects being apprehended after a vehicle pursuit and a three hour terrain search.

In May, June and July, suspects attempted to burglarize several businesses in the Wilmington and Newark area. Troopers and police officers from several different police agencies were able to effectively coordinate their efforts and capture several individuals in each incident. At least thirteen troopers and four local police officers are to be recognized for their efforts at the three scenes.

Several other examples of outstanding police work were inprogress arrests by Trooper Jason Baxley for a burglary, Corporal Jim Cras for a burglary, Corporal 1 Bobby Jones for a stolen car and loaded weapons, Corporal 1 Mike Butkus for several armed robberies and Trooper Josh Walther for an armed robbery with a loaded handgun

A rising trend throughout New Castle County in 2007 has been the proliferation of graffiti, "tagging", primarily perpetrated by juveniles and young adults. Truly a "quality of life" crime that has affected many citizens throughout New Castle County, it became a true cat and mouse atmosphere with the "artists" attempting to leave their mark on walls, fences, overpasses, buildings, etc., and flee undetected. Through the diligent investigative work of many troopers at Troop 6, including Corporal Douglas Brietzke and Trooper First Class John Doherty, a number of the suspects were charged with more than 100 crimes involving thousands of dollars worth of damage to personal property.

Troop 6 has always had a strong reputation for getting the job done, and the past year was no exception. Troopers normally process their own crime scenes for forensic evidence, photographs, latent fingerprint lifts, etc. Corporal Price Fanning, Corporal Raiford Box III, Trooper First Class Roger Cresto, Trooper First Class Bridget Cook, Trooper First Class Amy Mohr, Trooper Anthony Pantalone, to name a few, were responsible for lifting latent prints later matched with thirteen (13) suspects. Corporal Box processed a stolen vehicle in October 2007 and preserved the first latent palm print positively matched to a suspect since the inception of the AFIS Fingerprint Identification System in Delaware. This is just a snapshot of the daily efforts by the men and women at Delaware State Police Troop 6. Troop 6 is a fast paced and dynamic atmosphere. The men and women at Troop 6 are among the finest law enforcement officers in the state. They are truly a pleasure to work with and be associated with.

This is just a snapshot of the rigorous, daily efforts by the men and women of Delaware State Police Troop 6 to provide a safe environment for the citizens of Delaware. The citizens we serve can be assured of quality service and professional assistance during the years to come.