After 30 years in law enforcement, the Raleigh County sheriff's chief deputy will retire. Chief Deputy Bill Garaffa will retire effective June 30, Sheriff Danny Moore said.
Just two years ago, Garaffa retired from the U.S. Air Force Reserves. He's leaving after 30 years of serving this county, Moore said. Lord, he spent 30 years in the Air Force Reserves, retired from that two years ago, and now he's retiring from here. He has served his country and his county. Moore said his relationship with Garaffa goes back further than Moore's tenure as sheriff. Moore was a longtime Beckley Police Department officer, and the two knew each other from Moore's time with the city. When you work together like that, is like a family member leaving, Moore said. I'm tickled to death for him, just like I would be if you or I would be if we retired. He has served his country and county well.
Garaffa's biggest achievement has been working to get the five-year, $1 million Mobile Data Project up and running, Moore believes. The project has been a joint venture between the sheriff's department and city police department in which officers will have information sent to them from the Raleigh County Emergency Operations Center to laptops in their cruisers. Moore believes the project may be nearing completion. He wanted this settled before his retirement, Moore said. This is a very large accomplishment, especially in a rural county like this, to get this kind of communication up and running. It's been a pleasure working with him all these years. Garaffa was not available for comment.
Capt. Steve Tanner, chief of detectives, will be appointed to take Garaffa's position, Moore said. He declined to comment as to who would fill Tanner's position, but said that within the department, there may be multiple transfers and promotions to fill empty spots. Tanner will do a good job, Moore said. He's the best investigator in the state of West Virginia, and he will carry on the tradition of good work accepting nothing less than the best. Garaffa accepted nothing less than the best, and Tanner is the same category. They're both from the old school. They believe that hard work will pay off. I believe that my new chief will maintain this for the rest of my career here, continuing to work for the citizens of Raleigh County. Tanner said he looked forward to the challenge of being chief deputy and expected a smooth transition. Dealing with such facets of administrative work as budgets will be new to him, and Tanner said one the biggest upcoming challenges he foresees will be equipping four new deputies.
Recently, four deputies graduated from the State Police Academy. Raleigh County deputies travel alone in their cruisers to ensure better coverage. Tanner said. However, this means the department will now need four cars plus equipment such as radio, lights and cameras. Tanner said he would, however, miss dealing with investigations as he has done before. I'll miss it tremendously, I'm sure, he said. The (detective bureau) has been extremely successful, and I believe the bureau will continue to be efficient.
By Amelia Pridemore E-mail:apridemore@register-herald.com