Suzanne Stewart
Staff Writer
The Kanawha County Sheriff’s Department has 100 deputies. Now, just imagine what would happen if that agency was cut in half and there were only 50 deputies to do the same amount of work.
That is the case in Pocahontas County. The numbers may be drastically different, but Sheriff Troy McCoy says it is difficult to operate the agency with only three deputies when he would like to have eight.
“This department is more than half cut,” he said. “It makes it tough.”
In 2025, the sheriff’s department had nine people apply for deputy positions – with all nine failing to make the final cut.
Whether it was the written exam, physical test, background check or polygraph test, all but one of the applicants failed. However, when the one individual, who did pass, went to the West Virginia State Police Academy for training, he did not finish the 16-week training.
McCoy said there are several steps in the process to become a deputy, and it can be tough to complete.
“I’m not sure people know what that process is,” he said. “It starts out with a written application and then once we get at least two or three applicants, there will be a written Civil Service test. After they pass that, we move on to the physical ability test and once they get through that, then they go on to the background investigation and the polygraph examination.”
The background check includes more than a sweep for arrests or any illegal activity. It includes education and employment background.
With the polygraph examination, there are times that, while the candidate answers truthfully, the truth reveals that they are not a good candidate to be a deputy.
If a candidate does not pass the written exam or physical test, they are welcome to apply again, but a bad background check or failing the polygraph is the end of the road.
“If you fail the written test or you fail the physical test, you can reapply,” McCoy said. “We encourage it. The written test, a lot of times for whatever reason, they fail it. Certainly, they can come back.”
Now there is a study guide that is available for those interested in the position. It covers everything that may be on the test, which is more than just information about law enforcement. It is a general knowledge test.
“The physical test is another animal all together,” McCoy said. “You can do it or you can’t.”
If a candidate does pass all four sections – written, physical, background and polygraph – they are hired as a deputy. At this point, they are considered an employee and wear the uniform, but they are limited to what they can do until they go to training at the State Police Academy.
“They are assigned with a deputy,” McCoy said. “They are always with a deputy. They can do anything the deputy that they’re with can do, for the most part. If they’re working a vehicle crash, they can direct traffic, but we can’t send them by themselves to the crash.”
In addition, if the deputy comes across an accident or is approached by a citizen while they are on their way to work or home after their shift, they cannot work that incident alone. They must call for assistance from one of the on-duty deputies or call it in to the state police.
As soon as possible, the deputy is enrolled in training at the State Police Academy in Institute, where they stay, study and train for 16 weeks to become a certified officer. During this time, they are still a sheriff’s department employee and are paid for their time.
The next academy is in May, so McCoy said he will try to have the Civil Service Exam again in February or March in hopes of having applicants that become candidates.
McCoy said his ideal candidate would be someone who wants to stay in Pocahontas County and make a living here. He said that in the history of the sheriff’s department, there have only been three deputies who stayed long enough to retire. He was one of them.
“What I need here is a career deputy,” he said. “Someone who wants to be in Pocahontas County. Someone who is going to stay in Pocahontas County. Someone who is going to stay with this agency.”
One issue that McCoy faces is losing officers to the state police. He said the three local state policemen were originally deputies who moved on to the state agency. He holds no ill will against the officers and doesn’t blame them for wanting to advance to the state level.
“That is our competition,” he said. “It’s not necessarily the surrounding counties.”
The state does pay more than the sheriff’s department, but McCoy added that with the state, there is the possibility of being assigned to a different county and needing to relocate.
With the sheriff’s department, you are guaranteed to stay in Pocahontas County.
The pay is good, too.
“Not as much as the state police,” he said. “We were inching closer to being really competitive with the state police, but now they’re getting another pay increase, which is great. They deserve that pay raise. My deputies deserve that pay raise, as well.”
It’s been tough going for the sheriff’s department with one chief deputy and two deputies. Their schedules are difficult and there are times they are working two shifts in one day because of the calls they get.
In addition to patrolling and answering calls, the deputies are also bailiffs for the circuit, magistrate and family courts of Pocahontas County. They are also the only agency that can respond to mental hygiene cases.
“Being shorthanded, it’s stressful for all of us,” McCoy said. “The public may not have noticed as much because we’re still handling calls. You still see deputies here and there. May not see them as much because there are not as many of us, but we’re still out there.”
Fortunately, the sheriff’s department has a good relationship with the state police and is able to work together to lighten the load a little on the deputies.
That doesn’t help with the mental hygiene and bailiff duties, however.
There was an instance, McCoy explained, when a deputy was out doing an investigation when a mental hygiene call came in. He had to leave that investigation to go to the mental hygiene call. The deputy then had to drive the individual to Charleston to the hospital, which is required by law.
“The thing is, you have to have somebody available, every single day, to take that call should it come out,” McCoy said. “The reason I say that, there are seven days in a week and three deputies. I have to give them their two days off. There’s not enough to go around. I’ve had to put people on call specifically for mental hygienes only.”
There was another instance where all three levels of court were in session with each one needing a bailiff. McCoy covered one court, the chief deputy covered another, and he had to call in a civilian bailiff for the third to keep another deputy available for calls.
It just so happened a mental hygiene call came in. If it wasn’t for that civilian bailiff, it could have been a big issue.
McCoy welcomes anyone interested in becoming a deputy to contact his office and fill out an application. He has five openings at this time and will advertise when the Civil Service test will be scheduled.
