CLARKSVILLE, Ind. (WDRB) -- Clarksville's main police station is in the heart of town, but a new south end sub-station will open next week as the police force adds a traffic division and new tools to keep citizens safe.
"Our biggest complaint by our residents is traffic," Clarksville Police Chief Nathan Walls said Thursday. "We are trying to beef up and increase our efforts in our neighborhoods."
Capt. Ray Hall has dedicated the past 30 years of his life to the Clarksville Police Department. In that time, he's seen the town rapidly grow with new businesses and apartments.
"Then, once they came in, people started buying up the properties," Hall said. "We have also seen a lot of types of expansions of roadways and subdivisions that are coming into our neighborhoods. We have a lot more businesses here in Clarksville, so the roadways are more congested."
Hall said there are roughly 700 crashes in town each year. That's why Clarksville rolled out a new traffic division in January 2025, which Hall leads.
"We get to meet a lot of people in our community," he said. "We have children in neighborhoods and people out walking. That was a big concern for us, so the traffic division is able to get out and help with those problems."
He said officers help navigate traffic at schools and stop people from speeding through neighborhoods.
"It feels good to know that you can make difference out here," he said. "Help somebody or save a life."
All Clarksville officers also have new "lifesaving" tasers, which was crucial in an incident April 17. An image from surveillance video shows the moment when officers caught a Louisville man they say stole from the Lowe's on Veterans Parkway.
"They give us multiple opportunities to apprehend someone before it becomes a deadly force situation," Walls said. "They're lifesaving. They can change everything."
Clarksville Police said in a Facebook post officers approached Richard Smith when he pulled out a gun while fleeing.
According to police, an officer was able to shock Smith with a taser and arrest him before any innocent people were harmed. Hall said the new tasers can shot "little bit further" than the old ones.
This picture shows Clarksville Police officers chasing after robbery suspect Richard Smith, who is holding a gun, at the Lowe's on Veterans Parkway on Thursday, April 17, 2025. (Photo courtesy of CPD)
"Our old tasers were one shot," Walls said. "If they didn't work, your next option was your gun."
On Sunday, Sgt. Ryan Roederer rescued a man from an explosive fire that engulfed his car.
Clarksville Police Sgt. Ryan Roederer points a fire extinguisher at a burning vehicle that had crashed Sunday, April 20, 2025. (Screengrab from Clarksville Police Department body camera footage)
While Roederer had access to a fire extinguisher, not all patrol cars do. That's something the department also hopes to get in the near future.
"We're here to help people," Hall said. "The more tools we have, the better we can help people."
The grand opening for Clarksville's new sub-station is at 11 a.m. Wednesday at 1400 Main St. Walls said he hopes it will serve as a hub for officers, foster better connections with the community and cut down on response times in life-or-death situations.
"The south end of town historically was like it's separate area from the center of town," Walls said. "As development has grown, we're trying to put this right in the heart. That area of town butts up to Jeffersonville. You have 600 yards to Louisville. We need a satellite, a sub-station, in that area."
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