Making It Personal

In this article, I want to address a couple of statements that have been floating around. Namely, that I was fired from two jobs.

To keep it on the record, I’m posting this on my own campaign page, in case some of these accusers don’t like what I have to say:

They clearly don’t have all the facts, and are simply making personal attacks in a desperate attempt to try and keep their guy in office.

So for the record, I was not fired from my job as an Intensive Probation Officer 25 years ago, nor was I fired from the Brocton Police Department, 10 years ago.

These things are easy enough to prove. Some context might help, however. Regarding probation, there were some complaints from (surprise) local tavern owners about me going in the bars to supervise people on probation.

I was working off a list of serious and violent offenders given me by my boss at the time (now deceased). I was simply doing what I was told to do.

The politics of the situation offended me, so I resigned and took a sales and then management position in Danville. I also opened a second martial arts school up there on the advice of an old friend.

That turned into quite a successful operation that I sold 8 years later. This let me purchase the building and start Tom’s Fitness and Martial Arts in Paris. 18 years later, it’s also been a success.

Regarding the Brocton Police Department, I’m very grateful for the opportunity to have started in law enforcement there. They put me through the police academy where I was first in my class in 2008.

I love that little town. I worked about every weekend for about two years, and gained a great deal of experience covering that end of the county. I fact, I often answered calls for the county when they couldn’t send a deputy.

Unfortunately, a very vocal minority from the local tavern (surprise) was upset with the police department as a whole, and me in particular. This was primarily due to the fact that one of their patrons had been arrested by me for DUI on three different occasions.

The first time, I had simply stopped the vehicle for blowing through a stop sign and not using a turn signal. He turned out to be extremely intoxicated.

The second time, a vehicle almost broadsided me when he missed the turn coming off the highway. I didn’t recognize him until I got up to the window, because he was driving a friends truck since his friend was “too drunk to drive.” He blew twice the legal limit, lost his CDL license, and subsequently his job.

The third arrest came after a city council member called me and asked me to check on a vehicle in a ditch outside of town. Sadly, it was that same individual, again twice the legal limit. I had nothing personal against the guy, I was just doing my job.

The final straw was after a suspect from IN came roaring past me at a high rate of speed on my way to work. I called the county on my portable and asked if they had anyone available to stop him. They said they did not.

To my surprise, when I got to town, there he was, parked by the church. So I motioned him over and stopped to talk to him. I was in full uniform, and called out the stop on my portable.

I got out to talk with the suspect, and he was extremely nervous, as demonstrated by getting out of his vehicle and coming all the way back to my mine. I asked him to get back in his vehicle, and he did, for a moment, before hopping back out. He clearly didn’t want me anywhere near his vehicle, which was extremely suspicious.

I asked him for his driver’s license, noting he was driving a vehicle with an IN handicapped tag, but he was clearly not handicapped. By now, I was suspecting a stolen vehicle, and possibly drugs. He refused to give me his license.

At that time, another officer from Chrisman (who I still work with) called out to say he was on the way and asked if I needed help. I stepped back to my vehicle so the suspect wouldn’t hear my radio response. At that moment, the suspect took off and roared around the block, heading back out of town.

I called dispatch and told them he took off (a felony), and again asked for a county car to come stop him. I told them I had not yet had a chance to get my squad car.

I also told them I couldn’t chase him because I was in my personal vehicle, which was having problems anyway, but I’d try to follow behind so I could at least give them a direction of travel.

No one from the county responded. The Chrisman officer arrived, all the way from Chrisman, just as I was leaving town. When I ran the individual later, I found he had an active warrant out of IN. I spoke to the West Terre Haute Police and confirmed this first hand.

All of this was documented in my report. The 911 log recordings should still be there, unless they have been erased, which has happened a few times up there.

After explaining all this to my Chief, the Mayor, and the City Council, It was apparent to me that the vocal minority would not be silenced, and even the Police Department was in jeopardy. So I offered my resignation.

Later, that minority was actually successful in their real goal of closing the Police Department—for a time. When it was revealed that they had done it illegally, it was reopened, and my former Chief is still the Chief over there to this day.

What is interesting to me is that both of my bosses, my old Chief, the Mayor, and two of the Council Members at the time, are supporting me in this election. There could be others, too. I’ve had many people thank me for my time in service, during my recent door-to-door campaign there.

Once again, a vocal minority is attacking me, and one of the things they are saying is “Don’t vote for Dolan, he’ll be tough on DUI’s.”

Yes, I will be. I have nothing against the taverns, or the people, but I have a lot against the idea of people driving under the influence.

I’m still a police officer, with two current DUI’s in the court system even as I’m writing this. I’ll be patrolling this weekend, answering all the normal calls and yes, looking for DUI’s.

A former Sheriff has told me that in his memory, the current Sheriff made just one stop for DUI during his four years working nights for said former Sheriff. He noted that the current Sheriff let that one go.

To my knowledge, the current Sheriff has made no stops in his current four years either. That is 8 years without a single DUI arrest. Completely unacceptable.

So yes, I’ll keep patrolling, even after being elected Sheriff. I’ll also work hard to correct the problems that clearly exist up at the Sheriff Department.

It’s funny, my competitor’s team never addresses the facts I’ve been presenting. They simply say I’m lying, and the county has no money.

Now desperate, they are resorting to a personal attack, but I believe they will not be successful. The people will decide.

Finally, about that former Chief from my first Department? He trained both myself and the current Sheriff. That Chief is supporting me. This should tell you all you need to know.