The West Columbia Police Department has a good reputation in the community it serves.

“We respect the people in the community, and they know it. And the respect is mutual.” said Capt. John Norman of the WCPD.

He said he experiences first hand the support of the work of the department.

“Especially in the last two or three years we’ve seen so many people showing their appreciation for us,” said Norman. “People will come up to us and thank us for the job we do. It means a lot.”

Bruce Brutschy is a resident of West Columbia, who agrees.

“The West Columbia Police Department does a great job,” he said. “They are very proactive. They get out ahead of a problem before there is one.”

Brutschy also said response times for the WCPD are good, when he has called. 

Norman said protecting the community is a big part of what the police department does, but it’s not all.

With officers working, out in the different neighborhoods in the city, it allows them the opportunity to see the conditions under which people live. And sometimes residents need help.

Officers see that in some cases the best-quality, and most-consistent meal a child receives, is at school. Those children do not have that same opportunity to eat during the holiday season (Thanksgiving, Christmas and Easter) when school is out, said WCPD Assistant Chief Scott Morrison.

To help address the problem, the WCPD teams up with BILO, at 2349 Augusta Road, for a food drive during the holiday season.

Police officers are stationed at the BILO and work all day Saturday to fill up patrol cars with donations from the public. Officers have a list of requested non-refrigerated items that are needed to give meals to needy families for the holidays.

“Every year we help up-to 30 families,” said Norman. And the effort does not go unnoticed.

“The community outreach from the police department is outstanding,” said Brutschy.

The holidays are not the only season that the WCPD helps.

Norman said on patrol, over the summer, officers encountered a family that did not have air conditioning.

“So we donated some fans to help them cool off,” said Norman. He said he expected the family to keep the fans. “But they brought them back when they didn’t need them any longer. They wanted someone else to be able to use them.”

Norman said the incident is a demonstration of the gratitude the West Columbia community has for the police department and its fellow citizens. The West Columbia Police Department keeps a supply of fans.

“The fan initiative is vital to our community,” said Chief Dennis Tyndall.

The WCPD’s “Fan the Heat” program has been in operation for years. It has provided hundreds of fans to those in need. Through it, the WCPD collects Tax deductible financial contributions via the WCPD Officers’ Foundation.

“There are so many people who are vulnerable to the oppressive heat that we deal with,” said Tyndall. “We try very hard to help those who are homebound to make their lives more comfortable in the summer, especially our elderly and those with medical conditions.”

In addition to collecting fans to help cool down, the WCPD is especially attentive to the needs of children.

In August, the WCPD and Turner Memorial AME Church teamed up to provide school supplies to for students in Lexington School District 2. 

Morrison said when students go into the classroom, it’s important that they have the supplies to help them learn, even if their families can’t provide it.

“It’s important to us that we help them out with that,” Morrison said. “We were excited to partner with Turner Memorial AME and we want the children to have all of the tools they need.”

Norman said the work the WCPD does in the community helps. He described an incident that could have become confrontational between officers and the people in the community.

“But the people in that community spoke up for us,” said Norman, and diffused the situation.

Brutschy said the WCPD also does a good job of communicating with citizens, via community meetings, where they give updates on city-based activities.

“We have a very good police department,” he said. “I love the job they do.”