Goodhue, Minnesota, will be without a police force after the entire department resigned in protest after the chief resigned over poor pay. On Monday, Goodhue Mayor Ellen Anderson-Buck claimed she was ‘blindsided’ by the relocation, and the 1,300-person town said it was ‘floored’ by the decision.
Josh Smith, the Police Chief, stated that there is no end in sight because he has not received a single application to fill the positions. Following his departure, the town’s sole full-time officer and five part-time cops also resigned.
He previously bemoaned the low salary paid to officers in Goodhue, which stood at $22 an hour, and warned the town’s city council that ‘nobody is getting into the game.’ ‘If you want to keep the PD, and this is something we want to do, something has to change dramatically and drastically, and it has to happen now,’ he said.
The Entire Minnesota Police Department Resigned, Leaving The Mayor Blindsided: ‘Zero Applicants’
Facebook/Goodhue Police Department
The mass resignations occurred during a Goodhue City Council meeting on Monday evening and a discussion over police salary raises.
The resignations were accepted at the meeting, and the entire force was scheduled to leave on August 24. Smith had indicated his intention to retire weeks earlier when he warned officials he couldn’t attract fresh recruits and was losing prospects to big cities.
He told the city council that he had been offered a job in the city and that his efforts to hire extra officers for Goodhue saw no response. ‘I’ve phoned every PD in the area for the younger guys entering the game. ‘No one is getting into the game,’ he remarked.
Facebook/Goodhue Police Department
Smith’s resignation inspired the town’s sole full-time officer, Anthony Brecht, and five part-time police officers to follow suit.
However, for residents concerned about living in anarchy, Anderson-Buck guaranteed the municipality would have police coverage.
“That is not an issue… they will respond to calls,” she claimed, referring to interactions she had with the Goodhue Sheriff’s office.
While the loss of her police department blindsided her, the mayor said, “The community was resilient, and we’re going to move forward.”
Credit: Getty Images
Smith said he would continue serving as chief until August 24, when all his officers agreed to leave the force with him. Residents were outraged by the loss of the police force, with one saying she was ‘floored’ by the news.
“I think I can speak for everyone when I say that they provided fantastic safety and security to our community,” remarked another, adding, “And we want them to return to small-town policing.”
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Source: vtt.edu.vn