FOP lodge votes “No Confidence” in Police Chief Eric Powell

Article owned and originally published by WDTV 5 News on Mar. 7, 2024.

Original Article

BRIDGEPORT, W.Va (WDTV) - Members of the Monongalia and Preston County Lodge #87 of the Fraternal Order of Police took a vote of “No Confidence” regarding Morgantown Police Chief Eric Powell.

Approximately 150 current and former law enforcement officers working and residing in Monongalia and Preston Counties make up the lodge.

The Fraternal Order of Police said in a press release today that the lack of confidence in Chief Powell is not new, and has been a long-standing issue since at least the beginning of this year, and the vote follows public comments made by Chief Powell in his meeting with the Morgantown Citizen Police Review and Advisory Board on February 29, 2024.

“Chief Powell has an established history of failing to serve the citizens of Morgantown and failing to support the men and women of the Morgantown Police Department,” the statement reads.

Powell was appointed deputy chief in August of 2017, and rose through the ranks until being made Chief of Police in April of 2021.

Members of the Fraternal Order of Police said that in six years of leadership, Powell has failed to introduce any major policy changes within the department, and has distanced himself from the public as well as the police force at large.

They say he has not attended neighborhood events and meetings, strategy meetings with other organizations, and spends most of his day absent from the Department.

The press release says that Powell is a poor leader, and that he has lost the confidence of the men and women who make up the Monongalia and Preston County Lodge of the Fraternal Order of Police.

“The City of Morgantown is suffering from a litany of issues, notably illicit drugs, drug-related violence, and the unhoused population,” says the press release. “Members of Lodge 87 believe Chief Powell is too out of touch with his officers, the citizens, and the community as a whole to make any meaningful improvements. It is time to revive the City of Morgantown, and it needs to start with a change in leadership”.

FOP No Confidence Chief Powell by snikzad on Scribd