Huntington Public Safety Committee advances police participation in West Virginia Heroin Task Force

The Huntington Public Safety Committee on March 5 voted to forward to city council an ordinance authorizing the mayor to enter a memorandum of understanding with the Drug Enforcement Administration that would let the Huntington Police Department assign an officer to the West Virginia Heroin Task Force.

Phil Watkins, Huntington police chief, told the committee the agreement would allow the department “to assign 1 experienced officer to work alongside our federal and regional partners on drug traffic investigations that are already affecting our community.” He said the city would continue to pay that officer’s salary and benefits while the DEA “may reimburse eligible overtime.”

The measure, identified in the meeting as ordinance 2026-0-50, was described by the chair as the sole agenda item. A committee member asked whether the memorandum is a new agreement or a renewal; Watkins said it is the first such formal MOU in several years and estimated the last full participation was about eight years ago, while noting the department has a long history of informal, case-by-case cooperation with the DEA.

After brief comments of support from a committee member, Miss Miller moved to forward the ordinance to council with a favorable recommendation and the motion was seconded. The chair called a voice vote; one member recorded “aye” on the record and the chair stated there were no opposing votes, so the committee advanced the ordinance to the full council with a favorable recommendation. The chair also said they would sponsor the item at council.

The committee did not record individual roll-call votes in the transcript. The chief said operational details would include assignment of a single experienced officer and continued city payment of salary and benefits; questions about exact overtime reimbursement amounts or the MOU’s term were not specified during the meeting.

With no further business, the committee moved to adjourn.