VIENNA — The Maries County Sheriff’s Office held a second meeting about its new posse organization on June 22 to present ideas for different teams that will work under the posse umbrella. The sheriff’s office also took ideas from potential posse members about ideas they had for the group.

The first posse group Chief Deputy Scott John discussed is the emergency management division. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) offers training for communities to form Community Emergency Response Teams (CERT) that posse members could undergo to learn how to assist first responders in the event of a disaster. Members of this division will also eventually serve as a communications team. John said the sheriff’s office has radios it can pass out during emergency situations or while volunteering at events such as fairs.

The second posse division is for assistance with search and rescue. John said the eventual goal for the group is to have a trained group that knows how to use different search patterns such as grid searches or line searches. Some searches could occur on all-terrain or utility-task vehicles, but some will require posse members to look on foot or possibly horseback. Proper training is critical so posse members know how to identify and avoid damaging evidence.

John said urban search and rescue training is a possibility for posse members. Although firefighters would take the lead on urban search and rescue tasks, knowing what markings on buildings mean would be beneficial for posse members to know in those situations. Posse members interested in learning about water rescue will have the opportunity to assist on the shoreline while first responders operate in the water.

The third division of the posse could help with the jail trusty program the sheriff’s office has been testing.

“We are assessing flight risk and risk of inmates,” John said. “Ones that are deemed low-risk, low flight-risk, are allowed to go outside the jail with jailer supervision.”

Recently, deputies have supervised inmates while the inmates painted at the Ya Ya Arena in Belle. They have also done kitchen and bathroom cleanup in the jail. John said the trusty program could soon include cleaning the courthouse after hours and doing outdoor courthouse beautification projects.

When the sheriff’s office supervises trusty projects, it uses a ratio of one jailer to two inmates. By training posse members to supervise, the number of inmates working on a project could expand. Posse members volunteering with the jail trusty program would receive training on how to interact with inmates.

“The last thing we want to do is put untrained people out there with high-risk inmates,” John said.

The fourth group within the posse would be an administrative group that helps maintain the records of posse members. Records could include important medical information such as a member’s allergies or lists of training that posse members have completed.

The fifth posse division is for school safety and mentorship. One of the priorities for the posse’s involvement with the school is teaching the junior deputy program every year instead of every other year.

“There are relationships that are developed just by going in there for a week,” John said. “If posse members are seen there on a regular basis, then those relationships can develop into mentor programs.”

The sheriff’s office has ideas for other ways to engage with the schools in the county, but John said the office is working with the school to meet its needs rather than pushing for any particular agenda.

“We’re not going to impose on them,” he said. “We’re not going to be this group that forces ourselves on them. We just want to be seen because deterrent goes a long way in providing safety for anything.”

John also reinforced the idea of posse members wearing their uniforms to school events to make their presence in the community known and to act as deterrents to any potential wrongdoers.

“The more deterrent we have in the community, the less someone is going to say ‘this school is an easy target,’” he said.

The sheriff’s office will not limit posse members to only one or two groups.

“You can be in more than one group if you want,” John said. “It just depends on how much time you have to volunteer.”

Posse members, like civilians, will be able to sign up for ride-alongs with deputies.

“No matter which group you’re in, as long as you are in good standing and have your training, you can ride along with the deputies as a posse member,” John said.

He added that those signed up for the posse but have not completed training are still able to ride along with deputies, but they will do so as a civilian under civilian rules. Members must complete all training necessary for their chosen division(s) to receive their posse shirts.

“We’re crawling before we run,” John said. “We’re not just going to start handing out uniforms and putting people in cars and putting people in the streets. We’re going to do it safely for everybody.”

He estimated that the sheriff’s office would not issue any badges to posse members for at least a year.

“It’s too tempting when people first start getting involved to, in the wrong place, flash it and try to look cool,” John said. “Wear it on their hip while they’re at Walmart. Not going to happen. The shirt and a cap will be what you’re going to get. I’m just going to tell you right now; anybody that oversteps or impersonates a law officer will not only be removed from the posse, but you will be looking at possible criminal charges. We’re not going to play around with it.”

He said it seemed like everyone he had talked to so far was interested in the posse for the right reasons, but he wanted to give the warning so people know.

John confirmed at the meeting that the sheriff’s office’s insurance covers the liability of posse members. It does not cover injuries posse members may sustain while volunteering.

“It’s why we’re making sure you’re trained and everybody is comfortable before they do it and the supervisors have signed off before you do it,” he said.

A few people turned in applications at the meeting. John said that brought the total to about 30 submitted posse applications. The sheriff’s office will conduct a full background check on all applicants before accepting them to the posse.

“If we don’t know you, we’re checking some references that you have on your reference applications to learn more about you to make sure you have the right moral and ethical alignments to be assisting the law enforcement community,” John said.

Once the sheriff’s office gets to know posse members better, John said he plans to assign group leaders to help streamline communication between posse members and the sheriff’s office. The posse will have a policy manual outlining rules and expectations for posse members. One of the rules the sheriff’s office is considering is allowing posse leadership to vote on the expulsion of members who violate posse policy. The sheriff would have the final discretion as the elected leader of the posse.

John estimated that formal rules could be written sometime in July with the posse beginning training sessions in August at the earliest.

One of the rules John addressed pertained to posse members carrying firearms. Posse members who wish to carry firearms while in uniform must pass the same firearm qualifications as deputies. Outside of the uniform, when they are not presenting as members of the posse, they may carry firearms.

“This may be controversial, but this is just how me and Sheriff (Chris Heitman) believe,” John said. “I’ve already talked to the Sheriff about it. While you’re riding as a civilian, as long as the deputy you’re riding with is comfortable with it, you can carry. But you are a civilian, and the gun stays in that holster unless you are being shot at.”

“The only reason we’re allowing that is because the United States Constitution and the Missouri State Constitution say that you can carry a weapon,” he continued. “What good are we as constitutional sheriffs if you come to ride along with us and we tell you that you can’t carry a weapon?”

“We’re not looking for a John Wayne to crawl in the car with us,” Maries County Sheriff’s Office Cpl. Tim Edwards said. “No John Waynes.”