Blythewood Online 691

Tag: WDPS

  • Clemens tapped as WDPS interim chief

    WINNSBORO – Veteran law enforcement officer Patrick Clemens has been named Interim Chief of the Winnsboro Department of Public Safety.

    Clemens

    He said he’s looking forward to the challenge.

    “Wherever I’ve worked, I’ve always tried to leave things better than I found them,” he said, “and I want to do that here in Winnsboro. This is the kind of work I like to do.”

    Clemens came to work for the Department two years ago after serving as a patrol officer for four years at Edisto Beach and prior to that for four years at S. Congaree.

    He spent 18 years with the Richland County Sheriff’s Department as a deputy, and also served in law enforcement at both the Citadel and Newberry County.

    Clemens is married and has a daughter at Clemson and a son who works in the computer field.

    “I’m happy to be here, and I’m looking forward to growing the department,” Clemens said on Wednesday. “One of the things we’re working on is building the department back up – both the fire side of the department and the police side. We’re down three fulltime firefighters and five – soon to be six – police officers.”

    Clemens said the crime scene in Winnsboro has settled down considerably in the last two years.

    “That’s because our officers are on the street, patrolling neighborhoods, and enforcing traffic laws,” he said. “We’re driving the residential streets; we’re visible. We want to talk to the residents and get to know them.

    “The officers I work with here have the same attitude,” Clemens said. “We’re old timers – I’ve been doing this for 30 years – and we want to make sure of our legacy. I want the Winnsboro Public Safety Department to be set up for success if or when I ever leave.”

    Town Manager Jason Taylor said he wishes Clemens well as interim chief.

    “I am confident that he will be a steady hand in guiding the public safety department through this current transition,” Taylor said.

  • Shots fired on W. College St.

    WINNSBORO – The Winnsboro Department of Public Safety (WDPS) responded to a call July 19 of shots fired in the 400 block of W. College Street.

    When units arrived, all involved parties had left the scene, according to a WDPS incident report.

    A witness reported seeing a black male running up the street shooting at a dark colored Nissan Altima with tinted windows.  The witness reportedly did not recognize the shooter.

    A short time later, a Nissan Altima was seen at the Master Shell Service Station with bullet holes and a flat tire.

    No injuries were reported.

    The subjects in the car were questioned and released. Officers collected a total of 16 shells from the shooting scene as well as bullet fragments from the struck vehicle.

    The shells and fragments will be sent to the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division for analysis.

    Anyone with information about the shooter is asked to contact WDPS at 803-635-4511.

  • Wanted WDPS Officer Captured After Suicide Attempt

    Michael Bernard Roseboro

    The manhunt for the Winnsboro Department of Public Safety officer wanted for the attempted murder of his estranged wife ended Thursday evening near the Fairfield/Chester county line with a single gunshot.

    Thom Berry, spokesperson for the State Law Enforcement Division (SLED) said Michael Bernard Roseboro shot himself one time in the chest after Fairfield County Chief Deputy Keith Lewis located Roseboro at Camp Welfare off Arrowhead Road near Great Falls just before 6:30 p.m. Thursday. Roseboro was transported by ambulance to Palmetto Health Richland with non-life-threatening injuries.

    Roseboro faces a charge of attempted murder for the Oct. 28 shooting of his estranged wife outside her home on 8th Street in Winnsboro. According to the Fairfield County Sheriff’s Office, Roseboro was on duty with the Department of Publics Safety Oct. 28 when he drove his patrol car to the home of his estranged wife, Keisha Roseboro, at 148 8th St. and shot her around 9:15 p.m. with his service weapon. Roseboro fled the scene in his patrol car, setting off a search that lasted throughout the night. The patrol car was found abandoned the following morning at approximately 9:30 at a Masonic Lodge on Highway 21 near Great Falls, approximately 1.5 miles from the Chester County line.

    Keisha Roseboro, an administrative sergeant with the Fairfield County Detention Center, was transported to Palmetto Richland Hospital following the shooting and was last listed in stable condition.

    Roseboro had been spotted earlier Thursday afternoon at the home of his sister off Highway 21, a few miles from Camp Welfare, initiating another massive search by SLED agents. Berry said Lewis was assisting SLED agents as they combed Camp Welfare Thursday evening. Lewis spotted Roseboro and attempted to coax him into surrender. The other SLED agents in the field picked up on the conversation and were closing in on Roseboro, Berry said, when Roseboro drew his gun and shot himself in the chest.

    Roseboro had been with the Department of Public Safety for three months, WDPS Chief Freddie Lorick said last week. Roseboro had also served with the Fairfield County Sheriff’s Office from 2001 to 2010, first as a deputy and finally as an investigator.