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Resident tells Wheeling trustees training cuts harmed department morale, urges internal hires
Summary
During public comment at the June 2 Wheeling Village Board meeting, resident Deborah Wilson said recent training reductions left officers meeting only minimum state requirements and urged the board to restore prior training and hire from within.
At the June 2 Village of Wheeling Board of Trustees meeting, resident Deborah Wilson used the public-comment period to raise concerns about recent changes in police training and department morale.
Wilson said the department has moved from “highly trained officers to officers that merely meet the minimum training requirements,” and that some training cuts included “tactical response and use of force,” which she described as critical to officer safety and reducing liability. She referenced a 2015 internal document she said showed longstanding morale issues and said the department’s reduced training persisted after the July 2022 mass shooting and a homicide in 2024.
“His complete disregard for the preparedness and development of his new officers are felt amongst the rank and file,” Wilson said, referring to the department’s leadership during the period she described. She recommended the village “hire from within” and “return the training that they were accustomed to previously.”
Wilson told trustees she believed some training reductions followed direction from village management and cited examples she said had been raised with the board in earlier meetings and by the Municipal Alliance of Police. She said training had been cut to focus only on what “is required by the state statute under Kalia,” and that the result had left officers feeling unsafe.
Remarks occurred during the public-comment portion of the meeting; trustees did not respond during the allotted time, as is the village’s practice. The board later recessed into an executive session for personnel and collective-negotiation matters, but no public action on Wilson’s requests was recorded in the meeting minutes.
Wilson’s comments add to a string of public concerns about department staffing, training and morale that have been discussed publicly at prior meetings, according to her statements to the trustees.
The village meeting record shows no immediate motion or vote tied to Wilson’s public comments. Trustees will consider personnel and negotiating matters in executive session, which the board announced it would hold at the end of the regular meeting.
