Tobin Barton, Officer of the Law, arrested for Criminal Domestic Violence
(photo credit: thestate.com)
Once again the Columbia Police Department (CPD) made
the news, in a not-so-desirable way, over the weekend. Authorities responded to a possible assault
call in the wee hours of Saturday morning.
Upon arriving at a residence in the northeast area at about 1 a.m., officers
were surprised to find that it was one of their very own they would have to
handcuff and haul off to the slammer. CPD
Officer Tobin Barton, 36, was charged with criminal domestic violence
after an argument with his girlfriend allegedly turned physical.
Columbia residents have suffered more than their fair
share of public humiliation regarding the CPD recently. There have been allegations of secret
recordings, police being ordered to plant drugs and a gun to get a city
employee fired, threats and just last week a crime analyst slapped the City of
Columbia with a lawsuit claiming
her lover and former police chief Randy Scott wrongfully forced her to resign
or be terminated on the spot.
Columbia has had six police chiefs in the last seven
years. After a long and controversial
search process current Huntington, West Virginia Police Chief William
Holbrook has been selected to be the new CPD chief. His resignation from the Huntington PD isn’t
effective until April 7th.
Hopefully all
the turmoil brewing in the CPD won’t cause Holbrook
to change his mind about coming to our fair city. CPD needs a leader, and fast, to whip things
into shape. Unfortunately it seems as if
the agitation at the CPD is now spilling over into the community with officers
taking their stress home. Hurry Holbrook,
hurry. And it might not be a bad idea if
you’d come riding in on a white horse with a long-handled broom to start
sweeping things clean down at the CPD station.
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